


Senbonzakura

by Ravencrone



Category: Naruto
Genre: Abusive Parents, Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Haruno Clan - Freeform, Haruno Sakura-centric, Madasaku - Freeform, Mokuton User Haruno Sakura, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reincarnation, Sakura's mother is abusive, Self-Indulgent, Senjutsu, Slow Burn, Soulmates, Worldbuilding, kind of, maybe a little bit more gore than usual, there will be explicit sex in the future, will follow canon structure to certain extent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:13:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24812131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ravencrone/pseuds/Ravencrone
Summary: Haruno Sakura was being raised to be the perfect woman. As the only heir of one of the most powerful civilian Families in Konoha, she had to meet the expectations... That is until she discovers her family is not civilian after all. At the awakening of her Chakra, she realizes she has something of her own and she doesn't want to give it up. The Uchiha massacre hits and her engagement with Sasuke crumbles, so she decides to pursuit the shinobi life.ORSakura has a background as complicated and vast as Naruto's and Sasuke's. The Harunos, along with the Uchiha, the Senju and the Hyuuga, is one of the ancient clans. This is a story of self discovery through trials and tribulations. Oh, and one more detail: Sakura is the reincarnation of Haruko, Hamura's daughter, and the one true love of Indra... It seems an 'unknown' force will keep pushing Sakura towards Indra's reincarnation, the real problem is... that, currently, there are two reincarnation of Indra. Who will be the one for her?
Relationships: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Madara, Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Sasuke, uchiha sasuke/ haruno sakura/ uchiha madara
Comments: 67
Kudos: 184





	1. Awakening

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome everyone. This is my first time posting here. This is a story I've had in my head for a long time now, so I decided to give it a go. I also like to draw a lot of fanart for it. You are welcome to see it in my tumblr: https://itsravencrone.tumblr.com/ . Every character is being drawn. Including several looks Sakura will have during this fic. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it. Let me know if this chapter length is too much.
> 
> OH, one thing... English is not my main lenguage so if my writing is odd, that's why. lol

She tried to concentrate in her breathing to alleviate the tension in her muscles. If her movements were too rigid she would receive a punishment. She glanced at the thin bamboo stick lying on the corner of the room. ‘ _Concentrate_ ’, Sakura would repeat herself constantly. She diligently followed the tempo of the Shamisen, the fans on her hands turning and fluttering with practiced elegance. ‘ _1…2…3…_ ’ Finally her movements seemed fluid this time. She didn’t want to look, but she thought she had seen a pleasant gesture in her mother’s face. Without trusting in it too much, she continued dancing; watching every step, smoothly, measured. She should move like a lotus on water, or at least that’s what the instructor said last week.

  
Was that sweat running down the back of her neck? It didn’t matter how light her Yukata was, the summer heat in the Fire country was abrasive every time. She held her posture without tumbling and, after a solemn pause, she straighten up to then bow towards the audience on the room. This time she could look, she raised her eyes to her mother and when she understood that she was satisfied, she looked at her dance instructor who nodded gently. She felt herself breathe deeply relieved.  
" Sakura-hime, excellent interpretation, elegant indeed. " This time she allowed herself to smile; she bowed one more time listening carefully to her instructor’s evaluation who, after a brief exchange with her mother, left the room quietly.

She saw the sun bathing the corridor’s wooden floors outside and beyond. The _Tsubo-niwa_ shined prettily, soft sounds of water pouring on more water called her attention. She wanted to take a bath, go to the gardens outside and read under the cool shadows of the cherry trees.  
" You must continue practicing " the voice of her mother broke her daydreaming, her eyes immediately fixated on the woman before her, her body was slender and graceful. Pale skin contrasting with raven hair, how beautifully was putted together on that _maru mage_ bun she often wore. Her eyes, jade, identical to hers, looked at her with severity. She fixed her postured " Hai, Oka-san " the stretched silenced started to worry her but she wouldn’t dare to look down " Good, the Shamisen instructor will be here at three. Umeko, Naoko, prepare a bath for Sakura " In the back of the room, the two girls nodded, each held a Shamisen. Playing the instrument for dance classes was one of their daily chores. Sakura nodded once again seeing how her mother and the girls left. The mood seemed lighter. She looked at the patio again, the _Tsubo-niwa_ garden was just outside and her feet had taken her there without her noticing. This little space for nature and peace was one of the many _Tsubo-niwa_ around the Manor. They were made to keep the large structure fresh and bring some natural light into the spaces within the household.

  
The koi splashed in the water waking her from her lingering thoughts. " Sakura-hime " someone was calling her from the floor above. Sakura pushed herself on the wooden railing of the corridor to lean out and see who was calling, the sun was blinding " The bath is ready! " Umeko’s voice.  
The jade tiles of her bathroom were a blessing; the cooling sensation under her feet was so pleasant she closed her eyes. Naoko and Umeko were undressing her, removing the obi and layers of her yukata, soon she was naked and relieved. The bath felt like a well deserved prize. The scent of jasmine impregnated the air and little flowers floated on the water’s surface. Sakura dozed without even noticing. Half of the summer had already passed, as the day drew closer, her daily schedule turned more demanding. Tomorrow would be one of those rare occasions where she was allowed to go outside. She had an appointment at the high side of the commercial district, the Emi kimono house had to measure her for the ceremonial kimono she would wear next spring.

Denying her excitement would be silly, it was more than a Kimono, the prospect of leaving the house, going outside to no other than the commercial district of the village sounded like a thrilling adventure to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she had left the house, it simply wasn’t allowed and there were multiple reasons to keep her secluded.  
She was the only heir of the main branch of the Haruno Family. In a sea of black-haired girls, only she had born with pink hair. Pink hair was the ultimate symbol of blood purity in her family (at least that was what her mother and grandmother said). Her introduction into society was next spring, on her 7th birthday. Until then, her identity was a secret to be kept and so she lived secluded in the Manor of the Family; a gigantic household surrounded by a cherry blossom forest, the family land wasn’t too big, just big enough to provide privacy, safety and, more importantly, control.

The closest thing to them was the Nara forest, theirs met the Haruno’s but that was it. In other words, her family was as isolated as other noble clans and that meant she only had contact with members or servants of her family. The only reason she was going to be allowed to go to the commercial district was because of Tetsuya, her personal guard.  
Sakura looked at the sliding door; she could see his tall shadow through the wooden bars. Tetsuya never left her side, only enough to provide her a sense of privacy. She could vaguely remember the explanation her mother gave her as to why she needed Tetsuya, by now she was so used to have him as her shadow that not having him around would cause a tremendous amount of anxiety. " Tetsu " she called softly, she saw him move slightly to acknowledge her but just then Umeko and Naoko entered the bath holding towels in their hands. Sakura got out of the tub taking one of the towels to dry herself, Naoko dressed her quickly with a cream yukata and it was as light as a yukata could be. Now, perfectly covered she crossed the door and looked at her shadow.  
Tetsuya was a young man, but to her he looked as grown up as the rest adults of the household. He was tall and hard-bodied. His skin was somewhat light with an olive undertone poking through the hours spent under the sun, and the scars… numerous scars covered his body, even on his face he had what it seemed to be reminiscences of deep cuts he had suffered. Sakura stopped to look at him some more, his ashy hair was tied up and even so looked wild with fringes framing his face, his ears were pierced with several steel rings. Tetsuya stared back, his black eyes waiting for an order, but the order never came. Sakura just smiled and walk before him, he smiled back.

* * *

" Can I wear something lighter? " Sakura wanted to tear her hair apart but it was so neat and put together, her mother had enough compassion with her to let her use it in a bun. She had got up very early that morning to get it fixed. She looked at herself in the mirror as she was being dressed, she liked her hair and she only knew one person beside her that had this color: her Grandmother. All her cousins, her aunts, even her mother had black hair. " Sakura-hime this is the yukata selected by Hanae-sama " Umeko seemed stressed, the corners of her mouth tugging downwards. " No, no. It’s ok, I’ll wear what oka-san chose " Sakura shaked her hands as if she were trying to deny her own discomfort. Umeko’s shoulders relaxed, maybe the girl wasn’t having a good day, she knew very well how her mother’s anger could be, she still had bruises on her legs because of the slight misstep she had the last dance class.

She wondered if the heirs of other families would receive the same treatment, maybe it was worst for others. After all, her mother just wanted her to be the perfect bride-to-be. – What time is it? – They were fixing her obi, it took both of them, Umeko and Naoko to tied it up. Now they were sweating, Naoko turned to see the clock "You still have fifteen minutes before Hoshiko-sensei, Sakura-hime "

"Do you know if Haruka-chan has finished with her chores? " There was a brief silence; the girls were making sure she was perfectly dressed. The yukata was beautiful indeed. " I think Satsuki-sama ordered her to clean her personal library " Naoko responded " You are ready."  
Wait, her grandmother had a personal library? She didn’t remember hearing about it, why didn’t she know? And why would she need an entire library for herself? Her office was already big, as big as the dance salons they had. Without even noticing she ended up walking to the patio again.

After her Shamisen lesson the sunset would be ending. She turned and looked at Tetsuya who, as always, was beside her. She opened her moth to say something but she was interrupted. " Sakura-hime, I’m here. Umeko-san said you asked for me " Sakura smiled slightly displeased " how many times do I have to say that you shouldn’t address me so formally? " Haruka was four years older than her. Raven hair, jade eyes and a soft rounded face. She played with her fingers nervously " But I have to " she mumbled as her eyes went back and forward from Tetsuya to Sakura. She was her first cousin; she was supposed to be a friend not a servant. Naoko and Umeko too. Sakura had learned to accept it thought, a change wouldn’t be possible, not with how the order was established on this household.

  
"Ne, Haruka-chan. Obaa-sama has a personal library? " Haruka blinked a couple of times before answering, she still seemed nervous. " Hai, Sakura-hime. It is the attic at the fourth floor of the east wing. But " she played with her fingers while looking away " It’s locked up and…And the stairs are too old and dangerous for you. I wouldn’t recommend you to go, but if you don’t have anything new to read I’ll talk to Hanae-sama to buy books again, I’m sure th…"  
" No, no. That’s ok, I was just curious. This key you mentioned… Where is it? " Tetsuya, who had spent the entire conversation looking at the koi swim around, turned to his master. " Eh? Uh… " Haruka seemed to notice the dangerous ground she was on now.

In a sudden movement Sakura grabbed her hands gently and hold them together between hers, her big jade eyes looking at her pleading " onegaiiii " Haruka blushed from the closeness not used to a kind touch. Kindness was something she couldn’t afford. " Sakura-hime, that key is on Satsuki-sama’s office " the girl sobered up as she gave her answer. She was a responsible kid and as a result she didn’t received half the punishments the other girls would, including Sakura. Satsuki Haruno, the matriarch of the family seemed to appreciate her and so, she held her as a personal servant. Haruka was always there for the old woman.  
" Where? " Sakura didn’t back down, pushing forward with her questioning, Tetsuya step forward, both girls looked at him; he gave Sakura a warning look. Sakura doubted then, feeling his heavy stare of disapproval. " It’s in one of the drawers of her office in a box" The pink-haired girl smiled and before she could turn Haruka grabbed the sleeve of her Yukata " Sakura…" The lack of honorific startled her. " Be careful. " she looked at Haruka’s face and the seriousness in her eyes, so she dropped her smiled. She nodded as she walked away; she was running late to her Shamisen class.

* * *

As she walked to one of the rooms next to the internal patio of the west wing, she imagined herself stealing those keys. She couldn’t understand her own fixation on the matter and the sheer excitement this idea gave her. She was panting and her hands were shaking, she looked down at them. Why did she felt so much curiosity about this library? The appointment at the Emi kimono’s house seemed boring compared to the prospect of uncovering this secret. Why would a library be so guarded? Only a few doors had locks and she could count them with one hand.

  
"You should think of Haruka-san before doing this. " Tetsuya’s voice bristle her skin, it was so unexpected of him to talk to her without her addressing him first. She felt her cheeks burn of shame, he could read her so easily. " Tetsu, I don’t know what you are talking about " she rushed towards the sliding door of the room before them, not giving him any space respond.

  
Tetsuya could hear Sakura’s cheerful voice inside the salon; she was talking to her shamisen instructor. He knew how much Sakura enjoyed learning new things, his master had an avid mind, always hungry for more knowledge, and it was quite admirable. Her tutors had actually talked to Hanae-sama about this but she dismissed it quickly, however, Satsuki-sama didn’t. She took great interest on it and appointed Sakura to advanced math and heavier literature studies that he couldn’t comprehend, even being ten years older than her. He has seen that girl devour every single book and scroll at the main library of the manor. She was a smart kid. He wasn’t.

  
He saw her through the small fringe between the door and the wall. She played the Shamisen softly, gracefully. Music, dance and protocol weren’t her strength and even so… Her sheer discipline and determination had turned her into a skilled dancer, she had a great ear for music, and even if her voice range wasn’t the most impressive out there, she knew how to make it sound melodious and pretty. Sakura worked hard, too hard. She was so dedicated to be perfect and he believed she was, she only lacked experience to stand her ground but he could already found himself impressed by her. She was naïve and sometimes reckless, but she was good. His Sakura was kind and transparent to his eyes. He smiled; he was going to make sure she wouldn’t get into trouble because of the library.

  
Her fingers were already numb over the shamisen’s strings but it didn’t matter, she was too busy thinking, her mind wandering far from that salon. The melody she was playing made her think about the Ceremony next year; butterflies filled her stomach, even months apart... the idea left her breathless. That night her engagement would be official.

* * *

  
She looked at the shadows beyond the paper panels of the sliding door. Now she felt a sudden adrenaline. It was time for tea and she was about to enter her grandmother’s office. The door opened, the room was dark, the air was busy with pipe smoke and the gentle sound of a Koto poured like water into her ears. She sat at the coffee table beside her mother, she served her own tea and waited to be addressed. The office was full of refined wooden furniture; there wasn’t a space on the wall left and yet everything looked neat. – Sakura – the dry voice called and she raise her head to look, her grandmother sat at the back of the room on her desk, she was smoking from a thin carved pipe and holding the phone on her other hand. The only phone in the house, it was a terribly expensive tool only rich civilian families had.

  
Of course, she was wearing her pale pink hair up, just like every woman in this house, she didn’t look happy at all; she seemed to be dealing with some administration issues with the tea houses outside the Fire Country. These small gatherings they shared every twilight were meant to keep the heads of the house aware of the family’s affairs. It was never too early for her to learn how to manage the multiple family businesses; after all she was the next in charge. Her mother had lost her position the day she was born with black hair, Satsuki never forgave her daughter for her ‘disgrace’. And now she was only there to guide Sakura into the position of power in the family, everyone knew and everyone worked to see that happen.

  
Sakura’s eyes wandered through the several drawers in the room, there were so many, where could she…? "How were your lessons today? " she almost jumped from her seat, she looked at her grandmother, even being as old as she was, you could still see some of her astonishing beauty there, in her eyes, her lips. Sakura swallowed heavily "It’s always interesting to go over Konoha’s founding." Satsuki arched an eyebrow and Sakura wasn’t sure but it seemed she had a smile hidden in her lips, did she found it funny? "Very few know that, after the Uzumaki Clan, we were the first to join Konoha" she exhaled smoke as she said those words.  
"If it weren’t for us and the raging economic force we represent, Konoha would have faced more difficulties to grow at the rhythm it did. " Sakura mumbled back and she felt her mother’s stare but it didn’t matter because the acid laugh of her grandmother filled the room and Sakura couldn’t help but smile at the gesture of approval.

  
"That’s right" She smoked away.

* * *

  
A sudden flash of light illuminated her room; Sakura closed her eyes and covered her ears. The strenuous clash shaked her bones and she laughed freely. Who would have thought that on this fortuitous night there would be storm? She opened her eyes and sat on her futon. Her room was in total darkness now and she could only hear the rain smacking her windows and the tiles of the roof. She got up and her hair fell like a silky cape over her back. if it weren’t for the intensity of the storm she would be drenched in sweat but the wind and the water kept the house cool.

She started to walk around the room. This would be the perfect opportunity to find that key and search the library. With the noise of the storm nobody would hear her steps.  
She grabbed a pair of socks a dressed her feet with them, she really couldn’t afford to make any noise. She rearranged her yukata tying it up very tight and opened the door of her room. Slowly she leaned forward to see if Tetsuya was around but she didn’t saw him. She started walking towards the center of the Manor and on her way she ran into the _Tsubo-niwa_ from that morning, she couldn’t help herself and leaned to look towards the sky above. While the rain fell on her hands and face, she saw the raging storm and its beautiful lights dancing above. She had to seize the moment.

  
It didn’t take much to reach the door of the office but she felt someone was watching her, and every time she looked over her shoulder she was met with darkness. She was sure that if anybody was awake they would carry candlelight; no one would dare walk through these corridors without some light. No one but her, of course.  
The office was much scarier without her grandmother’s presence and that was surprising. There was something unnerving about how the light illuminated the room. She swore she had seen a strange shadow behind her seconds ago. Her heart was pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. With trembling hands she started to search opening drawers as fast as she could, she was starting to lose her courage and the startling noise of thunder that found amusing at the beginning of the night, now seemed to be gripping her neck with every passing second.

  
Suddenly she heard the unmistakably sound of metal and briefly after she had a steel ring with several keys hanging from it in her hand. The head of the keys were in the shapes of flowers, the delicate work of an expensive blacksmith, she was sure. Sakura closed every single drawer with upmost care and once she was out of the office she ran, she ran like never before. Every step felt like a jump at this speed and it was a miracle that in this thick darkness she managed to find her way to the east side. This wing belonged to the adults of the household, she avoided it because it usually meant trouble to wander through these hallways and now she was regretting it because she couldn’t find the stairs to the attic. It didn’t help that she could still feel someone at her back. She was starting to think about leaving when she hit her knee against some sturdy wood, she almost scream but covered her mouth with her hands and when she saw what it was she could breathe again. The stairs, they were primitive and dangerous looking, at the end, on the roof, she could see a trapdoor with a big lock; it had a sakura flower engraved.

She could barely look at the keys in the darkness and her trembling hands didn’t help her. She climbed the stairs and holding tightly to one of the railings she managed to get the key in. She turned it and heard a click, when she tried to push to open the trapdoor, she felt her muscles falter. It was so heavy and the position she was in didn’t help but as soon as she heard a noise on her back the adrenaline kicked in and she pushed as hard as she could opening up the door. She entered and closed behind her with the key.  
Drops of sweat ran through her cheeks and tears started to form in the corner of her eyes. ' _What was that?_ ' She tried to even her breathing and turned to see the library. Effectively, it was an attic. It must be pretty high compared to the second and first floor that she used more frequently.

  
The roof was a bit low, it felt claustrophobic. There were too many bookshelves, and they were everywhere; she couldn’t find a spot on the wall without one even if she wanted because there were also bookshelves in the middle of the room leaving only a stretch space between them, as if it were a hallway made out of the sturdy wooden furniture. The amount of scrolls was so overwhelming she did not know where to look. The fear she felt seemed to surrender to her curiosity, already more calmed, she started to read through the tiles. ‘ _The mask, the transparency: foundations of genjutsu_ ’, ‘ _survival and surveillance Vol. 1: Deserts of the Wind Country_ ’, ‘ _Shinobi hierarchy in the fire country: a historical look to our military forces_ ’. Sakura held her breath and stepped back, she tripped and fell against one of the shelves, the pain was there but she couldn’t care. Why would her grandmother have a private library filled with shinobi theory?

  
She continued reading title after title, some of them were pretty straight forward but others, others couldn’t even understand and it was freaking her out. She had read every single book and scroll on the main library, what were these words she didn’t know? " ‘ _Senpō Mokuton: Shin Sūsenju_ ’ " She whispered.  
A clicking noise got her attention as she heard the trap door being opened. She stopped breathing, panic straggling her. If they found her here she would be whipped all morning. She still had a scroll in her hands that she had taken at the start of the bookshelves labyrinth.

She hid it inside her yukata; there was no time to put it back. She strained her eyes through the darkness looking for a place to hide and found another trapdoor at the ceiling of the attic. She could climb up. There was a sakura lock but she had the key, she searched as quiet as she could for the it, her hands were sweaty and the footsteps were getting close. When the grip to the key was secure, she rushed to the trapdoor climbing through the furniture. It had to open fast and she was lucky the key went in on the first try because the door opened.

  
She shuddered violently when she saw where she was. She could see the storm so closely now, the sky was so big above her it could swallow her. The rain poured painfully cold and now her light yukata fell so heavy on her. She was on the roof and she could see the entire forest at the back of the manor now, her eyes widened and she turned at her own realization, the village- Konoha, sparkling lights shining in the distance and the faces of the hokages watching over them. She forgot she was soaked under the rain.

A lightning illuminated the entire province, and nothing could prepare her for the deafening sound of the thunder. She stepped back and slipped.

The sensation on her stomach was so harsh she thought she would throw up; it felt like her soul had left her body the moment she felt herself fall. Until she stopped mid air, her chest rising and falling so violently it hurt, she opened her eyes. Tetsuya.  
She held him desperately, clutching her hands at the fabric of his yukata. He stared at her in silence and before she could say anything he jumped so high and fast the air of her lungs disappeared. She didn’t even heard her own scream with the wind cutting through her ears.

She felt sick now; the landing didn’t feel so well for her either. They were at the main _Tsubo-niwa_ of the manor at the center of the structure. Tetsuya walked at a fast pace to her room and before she could realize she was back in her futon trembling. " H-how? " She mumbled as her teeth shivered.  
His hair fell on his shoulders and it was completely soaked as hers, droplets falling on the wooden floor. Without a word he searched for a towel and kneeling before her, he started to dry her face carefully. She felt so ashamed; her recklessness almost ended her life.

If it weren’t for Tetsuya she would have died the moment her head hit the yard four floors down. How could she be so dumb? – I knew you would go to the library and, apparently, I wasn’t the only one – now he was drying her hair "w-w-who? " She still trembled " I don’t know, it was just you and me until you found the stairs, and then I felt someone else. I had to go out through the window and I waited, when I heard this person opening the door, I thought you had no escape. " He held her wrist firmly "In the morning they would have told Hanae-sama and they would whipped you in the patio" the grip on her wrist started to hurt but she didn’t cared, her eyes started to burn and her chest ached. She faced him, seeing his black eyes staring at her, there was something in them.

  
Despair?

  
"Then I heard the door at the rooftop opening, I didn’t thought you would react so fast " he mumbled without letting her go " but if I hadn’t been there… If I hadn’t been there, you would have died. Do you understand that? " He clenched his jaw " We would have found your dead body on the yard! " His voice seemed to burn her as he said those words; the tears fell fast and copiously down her cheeks. She had been so reckless.  
She couldn’t held back anymore and fell on him sobbing into his chest. Tetsuya held her, hugging her into his lap, he closed his eyes while he stroked her hair. He would never forget the feeling of seeing her fall, he had never moved so fast in his life. He rocked her gently to calm her down and after a while she fell asleep with tears still falling from her eyes. He lay her down on her futon and covered her up.

* * *

  
She woke up before her usual hour and immediately felt scared. Last night’s incident had really taken a toll on her mentally and the idea of avoiding confrontation made her feel conflicted. It had been such an innocent thing but the consequences could have been so horrible, she realized she should really consider her actions, as simple as they may be. She sat up on a snap; she hadn’t put back the keys. But before she could pull her hair from desperation she noticed she had a little paper on the palm of her hand. “ _I saved the keys, the scroll is in your drawer. – T_ “. Once again Tetsuya had saved her from real consequences.

  
The scroll, she had completely forgotten about it, she didn’t even know what it was. She vaguely remembered some basic generic title on it. Soft knocks on her door called her attention away from it. – Sakura-hime, the bath is ready. Your hair needs to be taken cared of before breakfast. Please, hurry –That was Umeko. She got up right away, she couldn’t think about the scroll just yet.  
She really tried to concentrate on her lessons that day but she kept reliving what happened last night. She wanted to think that she had never felt so scared before in her life but it didn’t seem correct.

Why? Was there something she didn’t remember? It was oddly disturbing almost as if an entire memory had been wiped from her mind. And how come her grandmother had a library full of shinobi theory? As far as she knew civilians weren’t allowed to have such things. It was considered secrets of the state and the only way to have access to them was entering the shinobi force.

  
The Harunos were a civilian family, they had a privileged position in the village due to their economic power but that was it. In all the years she had lived in that Manor she had never seen any member of her family manifesting any shinobi conduct or talent, in fact, nobody seemed to appreciate them in the household. After the incident of her mother’s marriage, the family turned away from marrying into Shinobi clans. It was a tradition once, but now most of the girls were becoming Maikos and if they were lucky enough they would marry some wealthy business man or even a politician. She would be the first one to marry into a clan since the incident.

It was meant to be, said her grandmother. The Uchiha were such a noble, outstanding clan. A good matriarch would know when to involve themselves with shinobi if they had to, and the political climate was tense enough, they had to ensure their alliances.

* * *

  
She didn’t realize she had been frowning all day until her math tutor said goodbye with a concerned face. She needed to relax, she hadn’t seen Tetsuya all day but he was probably there, watching through the shadows, it was his job after all. – History and Geography have been cancelled. "Hanae-sama wants us to prepare you for the visit to the commercial district" She was sent to her room to wait for the girls, they were looking for the Kimono she was going to wear and the ornaments for her hair.

When she opened the sliding door she saw Tetsuya standing against one her walls. " Tetsu" barely a whisper but loud enough for him to look at her, Sakura closed the door behind her " Thank you for… " She lowered her eyes, unable to meet his " for everything " She heard him move, when sakura looked up she saw him on one knee, bowing his head respectfully " At your orders, Sakura-hime " She held her breath, there was something so disproportionate about the sight, about this relationship, about this exchange of words. Sakura felt uneasy not able to understand why. Since she could remember, Tetsuya had been there and she had never questioned his presence, but now seeing him kneeling, paying her respect as his master, she wondered, how did he felt about this?

  
"Sakura-hime, the kimono is ready. Tetsuya-san, Hanae-sama is asking for you to arrange the carriage, the horseman is at the gates."

* * *

  
When she finally got to the cushioned seats of the carriage she could feel very clearly the tension on her body. It had been an hour of dressing her up, choosing obis, retouching her hair, selecting a wasaga umbrella. She ended up looking like the personification of spring, the fabric of her kimono was of a color similar to her eyes that faded into an aquamarine shade at the bottom, it had some beautiful nature patterns and despite being a light material, it was very intricate knitting. Now it was time to see the village.

  
Konoha was noise and a lot of colors. There were so many signs at the front of the stores she could barely read them, her mother had to tell her to sit down a couple of times because she constantly leaned towards the small window of the carriage attracted by the smell coming from the restaurants. And when she got up to try and see the food, she was met by a cloud of steam and vapor that would ruin her hair leaving it with a nice aroma of fried food.

She didn’t get to eat fried food; the diet of the household was very complete yet plain: white rice, a lot of vegetables and tons of fish. The food was good but it wasn’t … " Dan…go? " She was standing again looking through the window, ' _what is dango?'_ She felt her mother’s hand grab her arm really hard so she knew it was time to sit and behave. " I’m sorry " mumbled Sakura, she really wanted to avoid her mother’s anger outside the house, so she remained sitted for the rest of the ride. Still, she saw the Haruno Family Crest on some banners at the gates of Tea Houses and other nocturnal establishments now that they were on the high side of the district.

It was awfully quiet here, probably too early to see Geishas walking around with Maikos at their tails.  
The carriage stopped, Tetsuya opened the door. It always shocked her how fast he could move, it seemed that he had arrived even before them. He carried her discreetly to let her down. When her feet touched the ground, she could feel her mother fixing her kimono, everything was in order. " Tetsuya, make sure nobody enters, understood?"

"Yes, Hanae-sama"

  
Before they could even pass through the guarding banners of the Kimono house an elderly couple greeted them. Sakura had never heard so many compliments before, the couple was very impressed by her and she couldn’t understand why, they bowed again and Sakura could feel her face burning, she wasn’t used to receiving so much praise from adults. All she could do was show appreciation by bowing as well.  
At the Manor people treated her according to the hierarchy. To her that meant that the interactions she had were determined by rules, which filled her with insecurity about herself, about what the things she did. She doubted her capacities; was she really smart, kind, pretty? Or did she only received those compliments because it was an obligation? She was so afraid of being a fraud she obsessed over perfection; she would practice and practice so much that not even her mother could deny her accomplishments. The memory of Tetsuya vowing in one knee crossed her mind, was he also just following the rules?

She couldn’t think about it, they were entering the Kimono house. Strangely, it reminded her to the Manor; the polished wooden floors, the dim lights. She could see several kimono holders on the room, some were empty, and others displayed gorgeous pieces. In the back of the room she could see women measuring fabric and cutting patterns. The place had a calmed atmosphere yet you could feel a sense of diligence and urgency in the air. Sakura could hear her mother talking to the couple but she couldn’t pay real attention when there were women knitting strands of gold and silver into silk. The colors were so beautiful and their work so intricate and precise.

  
"Here are the measures, they were taken recently. I want to discuss fabrics; I want to choose them personally. The design must be unique; my daughter does not wear generic fabric, so you better call the head of the workshop. This design will be produced one time, the kimono will be our intellectual property, am I clear? " Sakura turned to see the staff, they were completely quiet, a couple of women were taking notes and the couple looked at her mother with a serious expression, nodding every now and then. " She will wear it next spring, so let’s talk about the layers, Sakura is a small child, I want the kimono to fall like water from her but not so much that it would drown her frame. Thought, I want it to keep her warm; I don’t want the cold staggering her presentation."

Sakura didn’t know how much time she spent there with her mother, looking at fabrics and patterns. They went over the sandals and other ornaments like the fans. " A fur scarf would be nice, snow fox’s pelt should be fitting. " Sakura looked at the papers on the table, all the notes, the samples, all the planning. She always knew this was an art form but she didn’t know it was so much work. Sakura stroked the fabric of the kimono she was wearing, maybe she was too used to wearing them.  
"Then we just have to determine the time frame, the fabrics arrive from the main house, correct? " Her mother seemed pleased, or at least she sounded pleased.

She had learned to read her voice and gestures, it helped to stay out of trouble. Then she saw her smile and it relieved her so much she deflated a little on her seat. " Ne, Sakura… " The girl sat up straight " Hai, Oka-san? " She focused on her posture " why don’t you go and buy yourself something sweet? Tell Tetsuya to take you # Sakura could barely contain her excitement, her mother gave her a little pocketbook " You should be back in half hour, do not speak to anyone " Her eyes went cold so fast Sakura had to repress a whiplash " Have I made myself clear? " Sakura nodded, then she bowed and mumbled some learned phrases to show the house appreciation.

  
Once she was out of the building she felt like she could breathe, her mother had such a way to dominate the room sometimes she couldn’t even move. Sakura opened the pocketbook as she walked towards Tetsuya, she gapped. It was filled with bills, she had never touched bills before, paper money was so much more than ryos but so much less than checks. " Sakura-hime? " Tetsuya was crouching before her to gently close the pocketbook " Tetsu… what are Dan-gos? " He smiled.

* * *

  
She had seen the place a few streets back; it wasn’t that far, there shouldn’t be any problem. She could even see the sign from there. She started walking and Tetsuya followed, the protocol dictated him to stay at her back. She was carrying a wasaga (oil-paper umbrella) to protect herself from the sun and cover her hair from prying eyes, as long as she didn’t spoke to anyone, it should be fine.

  
Sakura couldn’t stop staring at everything with big eyes, everything looked so different from this point of view. There were only a few people on the sidewalk and they would move out of her way very quickly. Sakura looked back. It was because of Tetsuya.

  
He was walking with his left hand holding the sheath to his side, and his right hand was hidden under the layers of his haori. Sakura felt a little tick in her eye; maybe if they went out more often they would be more used to being surrounded by strangers. Her train of thought stopped when she heard some commotion at the front of the Dango store.

  
"How many times do I have to tell you that you cannot come in here?!" The man spat on the floor near the child he was yelling at. Sakura went cold, from head to toe, her hands trembled and her eyes went back a forward from the man to the child. The kid was small, probably her age. He was blond and his skin was tanned, his clothes looked so old and yet they seemed to be several sizes too big for him. He had something in his hand, it looked like a little frog, was that a coin purse?

The boy was holding back his tears trying to act tough, but he was quiet. " Get lost… Demon! " Sakura grabbed her wasaga so hard she felt her nails pressing harshly to her palm. The man took a broom stick and in a quick gesture he lifted his arm to hit the boy.

  
" Stop! No! " The words came out of her mouth without even thinking it. Sakura dropped her wasaga, her hands were trembling out of fear and anger. " What did you say brat?" The man hadn’t finish turning when a clash startled both kids, they weren’t able to see the moment Tetsuya had pushed the man against the wall. He had moved so fast the dust of the floor had risen and yet his posture didn’t change much: his left hand still holding the sheath, his right arm lying on his side. Sakura could see the muscles of his arm flex; the veins bulged under his skin. It was hard to ignore it, he looked so strong standing there, everyone had stopped to look at the young man.

  
Sakura, feeling more confident, walked inside the shop. " We want one of each " She stamped a big bill on the counter. She knew it was too much money, but she wanted to leave as fast as possible. " N-no " The man was completely outraged but a sharp sound of steel left him mute immediately. Tetsuya didn’t look like he had moved at all, but the little boy had seen him pushing the katana’s handle with his thumb reveling a fringe of the shining edge.

  
The young woman that worked at the shop rushed to serve them. " Thank you " Sakura took the paper bag and left the place. She searched inside the bag and took one dango sticks and when she was facing the blond boy she offered it to him. His big blue eyes looked at her in shock, the traces of tears still fresh at his whisker-cheeks. He smiled, he smiled so big and wide Sakura stopped breathing for a second, she had never seen such a beautiful smile before. The boy took the Dango, and she started walking to the carriage. " Sakura-hime " the soft voice of Tetsuya called her attention, he was giving her back the wasaga so she took it and continued walking.

  
The boy stared with shining eyes. He had never seen anything like it. The way she was dressed, the way her pink hair was arranged, and the fact that she had a guard protecting her. Not even the Clan heirs that went to class with him had guards. She had jumped out from a fairy tale to give him dango. He started eating without even blinking, staring at their backs. He decided to follow discreetly.

* * *

Not much happened until they stopped at the front of a fancy looking building. The boy looked around; he had never reached so far on this side of the commercial district. The only place he was openly welcomed at was called Ichiraku, it was down the district where the roads were made out of dirt and the stores were small. The floors here were made out of masonry so the wheels of the carriages wouldn’t get damaged and the geishas could walk easily with their wooden sandals. The buildings were protected by high stone walls and had banners at the entrance with the crest of the house the place belonged to.

  
He hid behind a big stone lamp near the entrance of a building, they had stopped. The man opened the door of a big carriage. It was made out of dark wood and steel, it had a carved crest he had never seen before; it was a clean circle. The man carried the pink-haired girl to let her enter the vehicle. He walked away and held the banner from the gates of the building; a woman appeared, leaning a little under the banner to protect her black hair. The boy’s eyes were wide now. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen; her eyes were the same color of the girl’s. Jade, like the jewels high ladies wore. They were different somehow; if she were to look at him he would freeze under her stare.

  
The guard helped her get in the carriage and closed the door, he whistled to the rider. The sharp sound of a whip made the horses move and the vehicle got lost from his view but he couldn’t stop looking " You can come out now " the boy almost jumped, gulping nervously. He hid his hands under his back, trying to look as innocent as possible and stepped out of his hiding place.  
The man crouched and looked at him softly " be careful next time, ok? Don’t let them hit you " his voice was so calmed he thought it was a whisper. Tears filled his blue eyes and he couldn’t look at him anymore. He stared at the floor somehow ashamed, he clean his tears with the back of his hand. He felt his hair being ruffled and before he could say thank you the man had disappeared.

* * *

The ride back home was quiet, she didn’t say a word. She couldn’t stop thinking about that little boy and his worn out clothes; his big shirt and his sandals, they were the same type of sandals Tetsuya wore. Was that kid a ninja? Was he in the academy system? If so, why did he look that way? Why did that man wanted to hit him? What would have happened if she …? She thought of the bamboo stick her mother used to whip her, a broom stick was much bigger.

  
She gulped clutching her hands at the paper bag. It smelled so good but she wasn’t hungry anymore. The way Tetsuya had reacted, she wasn’t able to even see him, her eyes couldn’t follow him. And his arms, they were so bulky and strong, the veins bulging under his skin. How did it felt to be so strong? So… capable? She looked at her mother’s hands; they were pale and soft, long nails and almond shaped, she looked at her own, like a small version of hers. Could she be that strong? Could she do something like that? She realized her heart was pounding then. She was suddenly so excited at the idea.

  
If there were theory about being a shinobi it meant it could be learned. Everything she had learned in her life had been through book. Well, except for dancing and music, she had needed practice for those. Maybe she would need both, reading and practice to learn how to be a ninja. ‘ _The scroll…_ ’ She remembered. She would read it tonight.

* * *

  
The night came slowly. Gas lamps and candles were put out. Everyone was off to bed. She decided to wait an hour after curfew because she knew her mother and grandmother would stay some more to go over the numbers. After the attic incident, she wanted to be as careful as possible. She waited until the moonlight poured through her window, she was lucky the sky was clear; she wouldn’t need a lamp to read.

  
She opened her drawer and took the scroll. ‘ _Chakra foundations: Meditation and control_ ’. She spread the scroll entirely, it was long but she was more than capable of reading it. Studying was one of the few things she could do expertly.

  
She read it one. Two. _Three times_. Every word, every character. There was only one image in the entire scroll and it was depicting a hand seal. ‘ _Ram_ ’. She looked at it and positioned her hands together, two fingers interlaced and the other two placed together pointing up. It seemed right. She opened the bottom of her yukata and sat with her legs crossed. She had never sat like this before.

Now, redoing the hand seal, she closed her eyes and concentrated in her breathing. She inhaled deep and slowly. Exhaled as much as she could before taking in again. She focused in her body and grounded herself. She needed to have good posture but at the same time she had to relax. She breathed in until her belly was full and exhaled. The tension on her shoulders faded and her face went soft. She wasn't sure how much time had passed. It shouldn't be long though, she could hear the leaves of the trees moving under the wind, the wood cracking because of the change of temperature, the water of the _tsubo-niwa_ not so far from her, she never noticed before those sounds, she didn't know they reached her room.

Then her attention directed towards her insides. There was something within her she had felt suddenly. It was roaming in her abdomen, spiraling on itself. She dove deeper, now she could see it. It was like a small pool of water spiraling slightly, she reached. Was that all it could do? What would happen if she…?

She touched it and before she could understand the nature of this energy it broke loose. It poured furiously through her limbs, it reached every corner of her body; she could feel it behind her eyes, within her skull, down her spine. It was a raging river, alive. _A beast_.

  
Her heart started to pound hard against her chest, she could feel her temperature rising. Her hands burn, they burn ice cold. She felt scared but couldn't stop. The river roaring.

She tried to direct the energy, it moved. ' _hands_ ' she thought trying to push it to her palms, her bones hurt. She wanted to look but when she opened her eyes the door of her room flew open.

  
She broke off the seal abruptly, her hands touching the floor to hold herself up. Her body was completely drenched in sweat, drops running down her neck. She could barely breathe and she felt like fainting. In the door Tetsuya standed up holding the frame roughly, he was panting and pale. His face scared, his eyes alarmed. " Sakura " he whispered, honorific missing. " a-are you ok? " He ran to her, kneeling before her. His eyes searching for something or someone. " I felt… " he swallowed heavily " I felt… " He repeated and then froze. He looked at her.

  
The child was breathing profusely, shaking. He grabbed her by the shoulders a bit too hard and ran his hands through her arms until he reached her hands, he turned them to see. The palms were red and hot. It was _her_. He saw the scroll on the floor and the window opened yet no moonlight to be seen. How many hours has she been meditating?  
He could feel it; the chakra influx on her body, he stepped back as if touching her was painful. He was speechless.

* * *

  
It was around four in the morning when he felt a chakra signal manifest in the manor, specifically, in Sakura's room.  
It had materialized out of thin air. And he ran as fast as his mortal body allowed him, he almost crashed through the door but when he got there he realized something and opened it instead. It was then when he saw the child alone in the darkness. He had thought someone was trying to kidnap her but now it was so clear.

  
Sakura had activated her three hundred and sixty one tenketsus simultaneously. She had freed her chakra from her core into all their paths.  
It was something taught at the academy; it was a slow process the required control and orientation. Most kids took some time to achieve it, and the majority did. Children from prestigious clans would arrive to the academy with their entire system active and circulating. Some other kids did it involuntarily, even by accident. It required innate talent. Everyone had chakra but not everyone could wield it. Civilians would let their systems rot because of the lack of use.  
He looked at the jade eyes and how freely tears flow from them.

* * *

  
Tetsuya remembered little of his life before this Manor. He had grown up here, he was trained here, he could even say he was raised here. The Haruno family had bought him when he was four, his mother couldn't afford to feed him and all his siblings. So, being the oldest, he had been sold. He resented his mother for a long time and he resented the Harunos as well.

He escaped once. But the reality of the streets was way worse than the order in the manor. They let him come back. Hanae-sama intervened for him.

  
In the manor he had good clothes, hot food and training. He didn't know why he was being trained so hard, but the years went on and the mercenaries taught him, they had no mercy. Satsuki-sama refused to call a doctor; she said he would learn better from the pain. The scars covered his body until they couldn't touch him anymore.

  
Then Sakura was born. Everything changed in the manor. A new order was established. He didn't understand why, and he hadn't even seen the girl. Two years passed before he was permitted to see her, and then he understood.

He hated to admit it but she was the prettiest kid he had ever seen. Her eyes seemed to absorb the light like holographic crystals and her hair was pink like the cherry blossom flowers. She was Sakura.

  
He was informed then that she was his only responsibility. A responsibility that would exist until the end of his days. He had to protect her and guard her from all harm. It seemed like a simple task, and it generally was. Sakura was a secluded child, she wasn’t allowed to do much and she spent her days studying inside the Manor. One night, thought, they tried to kidnap her. Before that night he didn’t quite understand the value Sakura had, she was thought of as an asset, the most valuable pawn there was under this roof, even more important than Satsuki-sama.

  
He could still remember the child’s screams and a sequence of blurry images, he had killed them all. No one remained standing. He was lucky it had been organized crime and not a shinobi squad. Soldiers worked differently.

  
He had found Sakura on the floor, she had passed out. Shaking and barely breathing he managed to take her in arms and retrieve her to her mother. When Hanae-sama saw them covered in blood she changed forever. He was never treated the same.

  
He had failed, even if he managed to killed them, he failed. And so he received sixty eight lashes of whip. Sakura cried and screamed until she lost her voice. It should have been one hundred, but the child ran to him and begged her mother mercy. Hanae-sama had these memories wiped out by the hands of a Yamanaka.

  
That kid loved him, she really loved him. She still didn’t understand the nature of their relationship back then and she couldn’t help but care for him. Every day with her was an endless ‘ _Tetsu, look at this!’ ‘Tetsu, see what I can do!’ ‘Tetsu, this is what I learned today!’_. She was a joy to be around, a sweet, innocent child. He was just a servant and yet she had defied the scariest person she knew for him.

  
He understood then as he understands now; the girl before his eyes was the only thing he had in this life. But the night Sakura woke her Chakra, he realized how not taking that scroll back had provoked a butterfly effect that he would forever regret.

* * *

:


	2. Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura continues to explore her chakra but before she notices, the Ceremony night arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! welcome back!! I am so happy about the reception of the first chapter. Thank you so much for reading and commenting, it really motivates me to keep going and also drawing.
> 
> A couple of you are intrigued by the Haruno family, and trust me, I got a lot to say about them I just need to find the right timing to drop certain information! haha
> 
> I've change the dialog signals from - Hello - to "Hello" . So it's easier to read. If quoted text is cursive, those are thoughts.
> 
> Chapters will be around 5k words, so it can be more manageable to read and also to write. This way I could probably keep updates more often.

She kept her cheek against the wooden floor. It was warm. She was so tired. Today’s lessons were finally over. She opened her eyes, in the other side of the room Naoko sat cutting chestnuts. She had an entire basket to go through. They were going to roast them and serve them with tea.

Winter’s arrival hadn’t been kind to her, her daily schedule was heavier. Rehearsals were very taxing. She was used to performing alone; being in a room with Geishas at the prime of their careers was absolutely nerve-wracking. The fact that they were family members meant very little, if anything it made things more difficult. The performance had to be perfect. It was a statement.

The heat from the radiator felt so comforting; she would end up falling asleep. Since she started meditating every night she barely rested. Sakura tried to reduce the hours but she couldn’t help herself, the time slipped from her hands. By the time she opened her eyes again, the dawn was knocking on her door.

But she didn’t really care, every since she had that taste of her own power, she had become addicted to the feeling. The thrilling sensation of having chakra roaming inside her was too satisfying to give up.

Tetsuya was completely mortified about it; he kept watching her like a hawk, waiting for her to do something stupid. He had agreed on helping her a little, it was better than leaving her alone experimenting with it after all. So he checked up on her once in a while. He didn’t say much about her exercises only to point out mistakes. Sakura could feel his reluctance on the subject.

It was January already, the month was ending. February would come and go and, before she’d notice, March would arrive with what it implied. The event was so close, everything she had worked for. She didn’t even know what would come after.

Sakura sat up. “Ne… Naoko-chan” The girl looked up. “What is going to happen after the ceremony?” She stopped cutting chestnuts, she didn’t expect that question. After blinking a couple of times the girl continued with her task. “Hmm…” she seemed to be thinking.

“When my sister got engaged she was fifteen, it was two years after becoming a Maiko…” Naoko smiled. Sakura didn’t know Naoko’s sister was a Maiko, her fiancé must be someone remarkable for her to abandon the Okiya so early. “She got married soon after that and moved in with her husband; sometimes I receive her letters but… I don’t know how to read. Haruka-san helps me.”

It was the first time Sakura had heard Naoko talk so much. “I don’t know what is going to happen with you, Sakura-hime” The smile that had formed in Sakura’s lips faded. The pink-haired girl got up and walked towards the sliding door. “I hope your sister is very happy, Naoko-chan” Sakura left the room. Naoko stared at the door without noticing the cut she had done to her hand.

* * *

Sakura looked at the roasted chestnuts on the plate. Her mother, at the other side of the table, poured hot water into her cup and the flower at the bottom of it started to bloom. It was slow but so beautiful.

“Oka-san, what is going to happen to me after the ceremony?” After waiting a minute or two for an answer she hid her hands under the table to grab the fabric of her Kimono nervously. Almost afraid, she searched for her mother’s face. Hanae was looking at her in silence, her face gave nothing away.

“The event is meant to honor you and our guests. The way we have planned things is meant to make you look like the most valuable jewel on earth and so you will step on that stage and grace us with your beauty. Everyone will see you, and see _us_ in you.

Power comes in many forms but in a world where we live among monsters such as Shinobi, we must do what we can to survive. Whatever it may be, it’s worth paying the price if that means this family won’t fade into dust when the war comes.”

Sakura frowned, her lips trembled “The war?” she whispered.

“There’s always a war, Sakura” The girl turned, Satsuki was standing at the door. “Am I wasting my money by hiring your history tutors?” Sakura gulped and shaked her head denying. “Then you should know this.” Satsuki sat at the table with the help of Haruka who held her by the hand so she could sit.

The old woman made a hand gesture dismissing the girl. “Nine years ago we had a third Shinobi war. Six years ago we had the kyuubi attack. Three years ago the Hyuga affair happened.”

“But… we are at peace now.” Sakura mumbled watching her grandmother light up her pipe. A smile twisted her lips, the scent of tobacco filling the room. “Are we?” The girl stared at the match her grandmother had used, its head crumbling to ashes. “Peace is an illusion.”

Sakura lowered her head feeling the words sunk in, she felt like she was about to throw up.

“Keep your head high, child. We are still living, breathing… _fighting_. You must move forward as long as you can.” Sakura blinked slowly, Satsuki exhaled smoke. “You will be the wife of an Uchiha, I don’t think there’s a safer place than their Compound. You’ve never heard of an Uchiha getting kidnapped, have you?” The girl denied with her head.

“Then we will eat and drink for your health and our fortune. You and Sasuke-san will be a new beginning for both our families.”

Uchiha Sasuke. She had heard his name only a couple of times. She had no idea who he was or how did he looked like, she only knew he was her age.

At first the idea of marrying into the Uchiha clan wasn’t even an option to her mother. It had been discussed. She wanted to choose someone from the Daimyo’s court but her grandmother insisted on one of the Uchiha’s boys. Hanae liked Itachi better, being the oldest and most likely the next leader of the clan. Again, her grandmother disagreed; Sasuke was the best choice.

To Sakura those discussions meant little. She didn’t understand anything except that she was doing this for her family’s wellbeing. That’s what she was told, so it must be true. Ultimately, the biggest lesson she had learned was to obey. As long as she obeyed, things would be ok.

“You will stay with us until you have your first bleed. The Uchiha will be informed of this and they will decide whether you move into the compound or not. Fugaku-sama is going to want grandkids sooner than later, and you will provide them.” Finally Hanae answered her question.

* * *

“Can you teach me something tonight?” He heard her voice and stepped in the room. She was sitting there, just like every night when she meditated before sleep. Tetsuya had heard the conversation after all, and he thought he could understand for a moment; the feeling of no agency. Very few people had true freedom but most were bound by duty, debt, need.

The date had looked so far away, always a distant future but a certain future in the end. He searched in his pocket and took a ryo between his fingers. He crouched before Sakura and showed her the coin. He placed it in the tip of his middle finger and, briefly after, the little piece of metal raised. Sakura’s eyes widened with fascination, the coin was close to his finger but suspended in the air.

“As I’m sure you have noticed, Chakra is an energy you can mold and direct at will. Finding the balance between the forces inside you can be difficult but if you practice enough, you may be able to do things you once thought were impossible to you.” He placed the coin in her hand and reached to his pocket to take another, when he turned to look at Sakura and demonstrate the trick again, the girl had already suspended the coin over her finger. Her eyes looked so bright and full of life, she was completely enraptured by her own achievement.

Maybe he should had expected it from her, she had spent every night in the past six months meditating and he had noticed the raw talent but he was no expert, he still wasn’t sure of her capacities. Truth be told, he was afraid of testing how gifted the girl was.

Tetsuya undid his hair and ran his fingers through his roots several times. His head was starting to hurt. He had hoped this little trick would entertain her for at least a few weeks. “Did I do something wrong?” Sakura frowned looking at his face, she dropped the coin. “No. It seems this is easy for you.”

“It should be hard?” She asked, confused. He did not answer. “Can you teach me something else?” Tetsuya sighed. “Please…”

The young man considered his options. He could say no. She had looked so happy for a moment thought. How harmful could be to teach her something else? He stared at her; she was picking up the coin, pouting.

He couldn’t possibly predict how badly it could turn; he was already starting to regret showing her one of the many ways chakra could be used. With the amount of time she was devoting to this pursuit of knowledge she could start discovering other things. What if she tried to walk on the walls and fell? Another way to die stupidly.

She used to be so easily pleased with just books. He reconsidered his options once again: He wanted to keep her away from the practical side of it, maybe if he gave her a new scroll. It would be risky; she could try to practice whatever was on the scroll… But, what if he gave her something impossible? Something she couldn’t even try to emulate. “How about I give you a new scroll?”

“Wh- Really?” Her eyes were bright again like shooting stars sparkling in the winter night. He repressed a smile; he was weak when it came to her emotions. He nodded.

* * *

For him going to the attic was merely a trip. He had the skill necessary to come and go quickly. Tetsuya knew how to move without leaving traces behind. When he arrived the place seemed unchanged and somehow something felt off. He walked between bookshelves keeping his senses sharp. Something catched his eye, there, in one of the bookshelves, there was a scroll he was sure wasn’t there last time.

For starters, it had no title and looked old but freshly written, as if someone had grabbed an old empty scroll and used it. He opened it and started reading. It was oddly vague; it felt more like a piece of literature rather than a theory text but it was speaking about ninja arts, more specifically, about Mokuton.

‘ _Mokuton…huh_ ’, it seemed impossible enough. After all, the last known user had been the Shodaime. It was possible that the Haruno family had collected scrolls over the years. He didn’t know for sure but he knew the Haruno were an ancient family, they had old connections with almost everyone and had the means to get their hands on this kind of information.

He stared at the scroll for a long time and tried to make sure there wasn’t any technique Sakura could pick up. Behind the poetry and stories there were only descriptions about the water and earth, about the nature forces and the purity of mediation, nothing that could resemble in anyway a concrete technique, no hand signs described or even named. It seemed alright, almost too perfect.

When he handed Sakura the scroll, he placed a finger on his lips, signaling her to be quiet. She had almost screamed out of excitement. He pointed at her with his index finger, a clear warning. Words weren’t necessary. Sakura nodded several times hugging the scroll, her smile was so wide he couldn’t help himself but smile along.

This should bring them some peace, at least for a while.

It did, it worked even better than he expected. Sakura was so enamored by the scroll all she did in her spare time was read it. She kept a notebook and scribbled as she studied it. Her night time meditation didn’t stop but at least she wasn’t doing anything reckless and seemed stable and happy.

She even started to behave perfectly during daytime, she seemed determined to do things flawlessly. He suspected that Sakura was making an effort to have as much free time as possible and doing things perfectly every time led Hanae-sama to allow her to move unto other things. Her reasoning wasn’t wrong then.

Those last weeks before the ceremony were bliss.

The music coming from the main salon was impossibly beautiful; a chorus of women chanting. It was the last rehearsal. The door opened and closed. The music stopped. He could see from the corner of his eye how Hanae approached him. The woman searched for her pipe in her kimono sleeve. She put it on her lips and stopped before him.

He searched for a little box in his pocket; he carried one of those for these occasions. Taking a match out of the box he lighted it up in a quick gesture and gave her fire. He met her jade eyes through the smoke, her expression so strangely calmed he almost forgot her cold nature.

“Sakura has done an exceptional job. I’ve never seen her work so hard.” Snow fell on pond, the _Tsubo-niwa_ garden strikingly white. “Keep her on sight.” He suddenly felt her soft fingers grabbing his chin, his stomach twisted, he wanted to move but he was petrified. Hanae smiled and the cold reached his guts. The woman let go of him and walked away, she moved as if she was sliding slowly through ice. Tetsuya looked at his hand; the little box on his palm had turned into a ball of crushed waste. Now he needed a new one.

* * *

Tomorrow was the day. The event would take place in the biggest tea house of the district; The _Ume_ Tea House. It belonged to the family. It had enough room to receive all the guests and a formidable stage to perform. It was famous because of its cherry blossoms and plum trees gardens. Spending a spring night on one of the salons receiving the attention of well known Geishas was a superb luxury few could afford.

It had been a nightmare to coordinate the night. The Hokage wouldn’t be there, but all the clan leaders would, even the Inuzuka’s leader was invited despise of her mother’s disregard for their clan. The Daimyo and his wife were also expected to show up.

Sakura blinked slowly. She dropped her brush, she had been writing all night.

She thought she would be more nervous, but her mind was focused on other things. It felt absurd at times. How could she feel nothing about tomorrow?

Her notebook layed opened, the scroll Tetsuya gave her had been the most obscure piece she had read in her life. It went on and on about how water and earth could become a greater thing, how life could form from within.

Sakura could barely understand. It felt like she was missing a huge chunk of information, for starters she did not know how humans could possibly have elemental natures to begin with. Then, the idea of morphing those elements together in some kind of elaborate procedure inside seemed highly unlikely.

She only knew one person that had manifested Mokuton in history, the God of Shinobi. It was supposed to be a natural occurrence, it couldn’t be taught, it just happened. Well, in reality, there wasn’t much information about it, or at least it wasn’t something available to the public. So nobody really knows how it happened in the first place.

That was one of the reasons she was so surprised with the information displayed in this scroll. She noticed there was an underlying code in the way things were said, as if it was meant to be read very thoroughly. And even when she did and wrote down everything, dissecting the text, she could barely understand what it was talking about. It was the first time she found a text so ahead of her comprehension skills. It was such a joy.

The moonlight was pouring through her window, just like that night. She continued thinking on her notes. There was something so humbling about this scroll and at the same time, incredibly enticing. It was as if a whole world had opened before her eyes. A world she had completely ignored was there, available for her and yet she couldn’t grasp it because it was a gargantuan beast, far too wild and dangerous for her.

Sakura had spent so much time preparing to be a beautiful bride and now it felt like so little for her. So little compared to this. She had closed her notebook and now was laying on her futon, she held her hand upwards and watched a ryo dance through her fingers. The coin that Tetsuya had used to show her the trick. She could make it levitate around her fingers. It helped her think.

She closed her eyes; she could see that pool spiraling inside her.

Months ago she thought she had seen it grow but it felt like a trick of her eyes. So she decided to investigate it further. Sakura memorized the size it had in her mind and with chalk she drew a circle on the wooden floor under her coffee table. It looked fairly similar and just to be sure nobody would see it she placed a carpet over it.

During several weeks she resisted to peak under the carpet. She was determined to wait and give it enough time to see a plausible difference. She had done the circle the second week of autumn.

On a night mid February, she decided to check it. She moved the table and then the carpet and as soon as she stood on the circle she could already tell it was smaller than how it looked now inside her. Sakura closed her eyes and visualizing her center, she drew a new circle.

When she opened her eyes her heart skipped a beat, there was a difference. She could fit her hand between one line and the other. So, Chakra could grow. The girl didn’t know if the growth was small, big or standard, but it was growth. Could it continue to expand infinitely?

It was hard to know, back then she only had one basic scroll. But it didn’t matter; she would continue to meditate every night. She couldn’t sleep now if she didn’t.

Leaving the memory behind, Sakura sat up, crossed her legs and placed her hands together. It was time to sleep; she should start to meditate now if she wanted to get some rest before waking up in the morning.

* * *

“But… Oka-san! Why isn’t he coming?” His mother was still making sure his _Montsuki hakama_ was correctly tied but Sasuke couldn’t stop moving. “Because… Your brother has an important mission tonight. You don’t want him to abandon his duties, don’t you?” Mikoto placed her hands gently on her son’s shoulders. Sasuke looked at her through the mirror in front on them, she looked sad. “No.” He immediately retracted.

Still, he couldn’t help but feel the need to have his brother by his side today. It was a big day, he was also attending his duties, and they were _family duties_. That should be important enough for him to be there, right?

The little boy sighed and pouted “Onii-san…” he mumbled. Since Itachi’s last promotion he barely saw him around, they didn’t even played together anymore and now that he was also starting to have his own responsibilities his big brother wasn’t there to see it. See him.

On this first year of academy, his parents had informed him that he was to marry a girl from a wealthy civilian family. At first he couldn’t understand why but his father told him he was being trusted with this important task to honor and protect his clan.

For the first time, his father trusted _him_ with something not even onii-san had done. And so, Sasuke didn’t question the matter further, he would obey and make his parents proud. They had said that it wouldn’t even affect his education as a ninja or his day to day whatsoever, so it didn’t seem so terrible.

But tonight he was supposed to meet this girl and perform a ceremonial ritual with her and truth be told, he was a bit nervous. It was hard not to be when the setting of their meeting was so public and formal. He wasn’t used to any of this. The _Montsuki_ alone was already drowning him.

His father appeared on the mirror’s reflection, Sasuke turned and bowed. He met his eyes and saw him nod shortly. The boy could feel his chest swell with pride. It was time to go.

* * *

The place was guarded by a high stone wall. They crossed the arc passing through the banners covering it. He tried to see as much as he could without breaking the etiquette he had been instructed about.

The gardens were breathtaking; he could still smell the rain from that morning and the flowers blooming under the moonlight. There were pink petals falling gently on the koi ponds and big paper lamps shining everywhere. Some terraces were visible for them, groups of men smoking while Geishas served them more sake.

As they approach the main entrance, they were received by twin Maikos. He suddenly felt the strict atmosphere the place had. His family was traditional and etiquette would often be required for certain occasions but it was nothing like this.

It was an awfully restrictive feeling. The maikos took them deep into the house, corridor after corridor until they reached a large room. It was enormous and quite dark. He could see several tables placed with a considered amount of space between them providing the guests with privacy. He thought he could distinguish a couple of them, but he was too nervous to care.

They were taken to the furthest table; it was the only table in front of the stage and there were already two people sitting on it. His parents bowed, and they bowed back. He did the same. Finally sitting between his mother and father, he could see who they were: two women, one old and one young. He suddenly felt overwhelmed and tugged slightly the sleeve of his mother. Mikoto turned and smiled at him reassuringly.

The stage lights caught his attention. Red paper lamps lighting up the place. A maiko placed a crystal recipient at their table; it had several candles on it. He could now see more clearly the faces of the women joining them. They looked distant and cold.

Ten women crossed the stage; they were dressing with the same exact kimono and three of them were holding musical instruments. They had a place to sit on the right side of the stage. After they settled, subtle sounds started to fill the room. Drums and Kagura bells. He shifted on his sit, he was feeling nervous again.

Six Geishas appeared on scene emerging from the sides of backstage. It was a nice, clean setting. The background was simple paper panels that allowed their black kimonos to stand out even more. Their dance was an absolute piece of art, Sasuke had completely forgotten about his nervousness, too enraptured by the performance. The women that sat at the right of the stage started to sing. High voices, intoning a traditional, reverent melody.

The geishas made their golden fans appear from their sleeves. The music was starting to reach its peak and for some reason he felt his heart pound against his chest. He could tell something was about to happen. The geishas got closer to each other and placed their fans together it looked now like a flower, a Sakura flower, and when they broke off their formation, a little girl had appeared on stage.

Sasuke took in air sharply and his skin bristled. The girl was dressed in an _Uchikake_ Kimono; it was deep red, similar to the red in the Uchiwa of his clan. Sakura flowers and cranes had been knitted with gold and silver strands to it. He would have lost himself in the delicate figures depicted in the kimono but he couldn’t stop staring at the girl’s face.

Her eyes were a color he had never seen, a green so clear and pure it seemed to absorb all light, and her hair… Her hair was pink. Pink like the cherry blossoms, and so long. It fell gracefully on her back. At every turn it would move beautifully, pink strands floating in the air.

Sakura petals started to fall into the stage; Sasuke looked up, Maikos holding baskets were pouring petals from the balcony in the floor above. Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl danced at the pace of the geishas she shared stage with.

It was like looking at a painting. It was so carefully put together. Every single detail on scene had one purpose and one purpose only: To bring all eyes to the girl at the center of it, and take their breaths away in the process.

For Sasuke it had worked. After all he was only a child starting the Academy; this world that was being presented to him was such a novelty to him. It was extraordinary.

Before he could even process what had happened, everyone was clapping. The women and girl on stage bowing. The boy blinked, his mouth still open, he searched for his mother face. Mikoto smiled at him again; after all, there wasn’t much she could do in front of everyone.

Luckily the atmosphere of the room shifted rapidly, more lamps were lighten and the salon was filled with the voices of other guests, Sasuke turned slightly and recognized the leaders of several Clans and even some of his classmates; the clan heirs, of course.

But before he could look further, everyone at his table got up and so did he. The girl was here. She was shorter than him, so small and fragile looking. She looked directly into his eyes, her face turning red. Sasuke frowned, feeling the tip of his ears burn.

“My name is Haruno Sakura, please take care of me” She bowed deep and long enough for him to realize his hands were trembling slightly. “Uchiha Sasuke” He mirrored her movements, trying to keep up with the affair.

They finally sat down at the table again. Sakura remained between the two women that now he could see were her grandmother and mother; the old lady had pale pink hair, he had thought it was white because of the lack of light.

Food was brought to the table. Plate after plate of traditional cuisine and copious amount of sake. His father and the old woman kept a quiet and ongoing conversation he couldn’t really pick up between the now loud voices of the guests around the salon.

At some point, the girl got up with her mother and he saw them go table after table, the girl bowing. She was presenting herself to the clan leaders and other prominent members of the village.

At that moment, his mother turned to him “are you ok?” Her soft voice concerned. Sasuke swallowed heavy “Hn.” He had to prove he was more than capable of doing this. If that girl could present herself to every important person in the village in one night, he could continue to follow the protocol instructed.

* * *

The night was not over yet. The celebration at the tea house kept going but they were leaving and the Harunos were coming along. Back at the entrance of the tea house stone walls, there was a big carriage and a young man waiting by its door. He opened and helped the girl get in. The adults followed, one by one, as he got near to enter the young man offered a hand. Sasuke frowned “tsk...” He ignored the help and got in by himself.

He sat between his parents; Sakura was before him at the other side of the carriage. Nobody talked. He recognized they were moving towards the Compound. He looked at Sakura, her kimono looked so heavy and her sandals were fairly tall, she did need the carriage.

They stopped shortly after at the entrance of the Compound. They left the carriage. The big gates of the Compound were opened and other Uchiha waited on the other side. They had lined up at the sides of the road and were watching vigilantly.

Sakura, her mother and grandmother stopped at the entrance kneeling on the floor and bowing in front of them, all the Uchihas could see them. Sasuke could feel his heart beating hard again.

* * *

They had walked through the Compound crossing to the other side where their temple was. He didn’t see a single light while they walked there, all the houses were dark, on the other hand, their temple was completely illuminated by big torches. It looked so ominous this way. A Shinto priest received them; he was wearing his white ceremonial garment. It didn’t had the Uchiha crest but Sasuke knew he was an Uchiha, he recognized him.

They went inside the temple, it was simple, clean, you could see the recent offerings other Uchiha had made; little dolls, food, evergreen. He had seen it before, it felt comforting for him.

Being on his territory now had given him more confidence. A _miko_ (priestess) was waiting for them. The priest opened a big trap door on the floor behind the shrine he hadn’t really noticed before. They went in.

The descent wasn’t long but it was not easy for Sakura stepping down. They had to go very slow so the girl wouldn’t fall. Through and through she had held herself impressively despite the situation.

Sasuke’s eyes widen as soon as he saw the underground shrine of their temple. Everything was made out of stone. The Uchiha crest carved and painted on the wall, and under it there was a stone tablet illuminated by many candles.

The two women accompanying Sakura removed the Uchikage’s first layer; the red intricate one, leaving her with just the white kimono with no noticeable markings besides the fainted pattern of the silk.

The Priest and _miko_ stood before them giving their backs to the stone tablet. His parents sat at their right, the women to their left, leaving him and Sakura in front of them. They sat as well.

The ceremony begun. The priest purified the shrine and called benevolent spirits. The _miko_ placed a little table before them and a delicate cup. From a golden kettle she poured sake into the cup.

Sasuke took it and, in three sips, he drank the content. His mouth and throat burned slightly, he had never tasted sake before. The same cup was used to serve Sakura; she drank it in three sips as well. The second time the cup, slightly bigger than the previous one, was handed to Sakura first, and the last time the cup, even bigger this time, was given to him first again. They bowed.

Sasuke could feel his tongue tickling; the alcohol was affecting his senses. He felt a bit dazed, but the ceremony wasn’t over. He blinked a couple of times as the _miko_ gave him a little scroll with their vows to the Gods. Sakura leaned a bit closer to him, he cloud see her cheeks were red, probably from the sake. Sasuke took a deep breath:

“ **On this great day, before Kami, we are sincerely thankful for this ceremony. Going forward, we will love each other, trust one another, share the blessings and endure the misfortunes, and swear this will remain unchanged throughout our lives.** ”

He read every word carefully and made sure to enunciate clearly. Sakura’s face was completely read now. “ ** _Otto_ (husband), Sasuke**” he announced “ ** _Tsuma_ (wife), Sakura**” She followed.

The _miko_ took the scroll back and gave them each a branch of evergreen for them to offer it to the stone shrine. The couple held their evergreen branches and prayed silently before placing them on the shrine. They bowed respectfully and, as they straighten up, they clapped their hands simultaneously.

The kids sat down, their part was over. Sakura took a deep breath, she seemed relieved. Sasuke could sympathize. Each time the boy glanced at her she was looking back. She was still blushing and he couldn’t help but frown at her trying to ignore how hot the tip of his ears felt.

The miko was serving sake to the parents now. “ _Omedeto gozaimasu_ ” Sharp and clear the priest stated, the cups rose celebrating the union.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... did you expected that?
> 
> I didn't specify exactly what the ceremony was but now I think is pretty obvious. I watched a couple of shinto wedding ceremonies to write this. It's not super accurate but it follows the structure.
> 
> Sasuke has entered the chat. This Sasuke is still that little happy kid. He is a little bratty but still, adorable. He is very determined to prove himself to his father, and I really want to develop this eagerness to earn his father's recognition, just like in canon.  
> Sakura finally saw the boy she is supposed to spend her life with. And, well.. It's Sakura, of course she is going to like Sasuke. Does Sasuke likes her back? we shall see. There's a couple of things that come into play when we talk about their dinamic in this fic. Remember this is AU.
> 
> I'll see you guys next chapter. I hope you liked it. Remember, comments are a great motivation~


	3. Massacre

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Sakura and Sasuke bond, their world crumbles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *TW: mention of suicide. It's not described, just mentioned. Also, as you can expect from the title of this chapter, the characters will experience awful emotions.* 
> 
> The chapter is long. In the middle of it there is an intermission in case you wish to read the other half later on. c:

* * *

The sun bathed her, the heat was almost too much but it was the first real sunny day of spring. She was still holding her notebook in her hand, the paper felt rough under her fingers. Sakura breathe in deeply, the smell of earth was strong and she could hear the water moving gently not too far away from her.

“Uh… Sakura-hime?” The girl tried to pretend she didn’t hear Umeko’s voice. “I know you like to lie under the sun, but I thought you should know that… Hanae-sama just arrived.” Not a second later Sakura jumped up from the grass. “w-what?! Oka-san’s here?” Trying to keep her voice down she looked at Umeko, she was holding a clean futon. It was laundry day. Sakura ran holding her notebook tight “Umeko-chan, please help me change!” Her Kimono smelled like soil. She was now in front of the girl. Umeko frowned looking annoyed but before Sakura could say more the girl was already nodding. They ran together through the house almost bumping into others in the way.

“I thought she wouldn’t be here until Thursday!” Umeko was already searching for a new kimono; she was in the closet climbing up the stairs to reach for a Kimono box. “Sakura-hime?” Naoko’s head was picking through the door’s opening. The pink-haired girl signaled her to be quiet and moving her hand told her to come in. Naoko closed the sliding door behind her.

“Help Umeko-chan. Hurry!” The girl rushed to the closet, she could see Umeko’s legs dangling from one of the upper kimono sections. She grabbed her to help her down, between the two they took the box out. Normally they’d take from thirty to forty five minutes to dress her, they needed to run now. Sakura was already naked; she had hid the dirty kimono in the bottom of the to-do pile of clothing. The girls started to dress her; they were careful with the details but a bit rough in the process. Sakura couldn’t care less. She was checking her hair, it was braided and it seemed ok. They were already tiding the obi when they heard Hanae’s voice downstairs. “Shit!” Umeko whispered. The girls stopped suddenly, startled by it. Sakura’s hands were covering her opened mouth, her eyes were wide. Naoko snorted and Sakura laughed. The girls giggled quietly.

“Done! It’s done!” Umeko made sure she looked ok. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!” Sakura left the dressing room and walked towards the wood railing, she checked whether she had left something on the _Tsubo-niwa’s_ grass or not. “Sakura” Her mother had seen her from downstairs. “Oka-san”.

Hanae had to travel right after the ceremony night. After spending almost an entire year at the household supervising Sakura’s training and planning the ceremony night, she needed to visit their businesses around the Fire country. The silk workshops had received new weaving machines and she wanted to personally make sure the quality of the fabric wasn’t compromised. After that, everything turned out easy on the trip until she received a message from the Manor. A letter written by Mikoto Uchiha had arrived to the household. Hanae returned as quickly as she could.

* * *

The shamisen strings were rigid under her fingers; it’s been a while since she had practiced. Her eyes followed the droplets falling from the roof tiles. After the sunset rain started to fall, the sunny day had come to an end, now the girls were lighting up the oil paper lamps. Sakura sat at the terrace, her eyes lost on the sakura trees beyond the garden.

Her mother had told her over tea that tomorrow she would be visiting the Uchiha compound, alone. Mikoto-sama had invited her to spend the day with them. Sakura didn’t know what was expected of her and the more she thought about it, the more nervous she felt.

The music stopped, but she continued to press the strings. She just stayed there, looking at the rain fall.

Sakura remembered herself dancing on stage; it was almost as if in that moment something bigger had taken over her. She had never felt like that before, her body moved without thinking. The music, the lights, the petals falling. She could still remember the feeling when she closed her eyes, her wrists turning, fans fluttering and darkness beyond.

Then she had met him, and looking into his black eyes, for a brief second, she felt something.

* * *

Hanae looked through the window, everything was dark now. Her shadow danced softly under the dim candle lights.

“...Have you paid attention or are you still in denial? When the Uchihas rise and they will, we will be on the right side of this. Do you understand?” The young woman gritted her teeth without daring to look away from the window, her hands started to tremble.

“Shinobi destroy everything…” Hanae’s words came out quiet and broken.

“Yes and while all their fire and anger drown the streets, our house will not burn with the rest. Hiruzen and that damn council had it coming. It’s been disgrace after disgrace, and they want us to pretend this is not their responsibility? Konoha needs new leadership and It needs it now or else... we will see this village turn into ashes”

“And you don’t think the Uchihas will do the same?! There’s no difference!” Her eyes were filled with tears. “There is a difference when your precious daughter is married to their son.” Satsuki voice was dangerously calmed.

“I married a shinobi; look how much good it did to me!” Hanae turned; the jade shining bright on her bloodshot eyes.

“You married a mediocre man that died on the battlefield… I let you choose, and you chose _poorly_.”

* * *

Sakura crossed the gates of the Manor walls. The girl hesitated. She looked back; Umeko and Naoko were standing beside her mother at the Manor’s entrance. Hanae nodded and so Sakura took Tetsuya’s hand to get into the carriage. Somehow the fact that she could get in now without him carrying her, made her feel better about herself. It also helped that she was wearing a light spring yukata, but it definitely had to do more with the fact that she was growing fast. Her mother lamented it, now they had to adjust her Kimonos or even worst: make new ones.

Sakura sighed as she sat right next to the little window of the vehicle, it was her first ride alone, it was also her first time going somewhere alone. Today promised a lot of new experiences. The girl gulped when she heard the whip and the carriage moved. It was inertia what made her get up. She really couldn’t help herself, she needed to look.

What had happened to the hokage’s faces? Apparently someone had vandalized them with paint making silly doodles on them. Sakura giggled and covered her mouth right away, looking to her side waiting to be scolded but she was alone. Slowly she lowered her hand and looked again. It was so funny, she knew she shouldn’t but she laughed. Even if it was just a moment between the Manor and the Uchiha compound, she wanted to enjoy this moment. The girl looked and looked. Again, all the colored signs and the people walking down the streets. They were taking a different route she didn’t know; they were crossing through the center of the village to the other side.

It was so noisy in here it almost overwhelmed her. She even spotted a couple of ninjas wearing their jounin uniforms. They stood so casually next to a little food stand chatting carelessly. Sakura was practically jumping of excitement. It took a while to get to the Uchiha compound; she didn’t remember how far it actually was. They were practically reaching the west border of the village. It didn’t make much sense, historically, the Uchiha clan, being one of the founders, should be located more towards the center of the village, maybe close to the Hokage tower. Why would they rebuild their Compound so far from the center after the Kyuubi attack?

She could see it now, the gates. They were open. It looked so differently now. That night it had been so scary to step into the Compound she was feeling reluctant to comeback but now, she was actually curious. As soon as the carriage stopped she got up and tried to check everything was in other with her appearance. Her hair was splitted in two and braided, her mother was giving her roots a break from the waxed buns she usually had done. It was much more comfortable this way, she didn’t have to wake up so early and her head wouldn’t hurt by the end of the day.

“ _Alright_ ” Her yukata was well put. It was simple, really, compared to others. It was pastel blue with sakura flowers here and there. The door opened, Tetsuya helped her down. Sakura didn’t want to let go of his hand now that she was at the gates. She was supposed to be escorted to their house. You couldn’t just walk into a clan’s territory.

A guy approached, he was slightly shorter than Tetsuya. It didn’t make much difference to her, he was still very tall. His hair was messy, curly and short. “Sakura-san, welcome.” He smiled. “I’m Uchiha Shisui. Mikoto-sama asked me to escort you to their home.” Sakura nodded and bowed. The Uchiha were showing her respect by sending someone like him to receive her. He was dressed in jounin uniform and despite his kind exterior he was watching them closely. Maybe he had to be sure it really was her, after all, they were going to take her to the leader’s home.

Sakura started to walk. “Sorry. You can’t enter.” The girl turned, Tetsuya had been stopped. “The invitation was directed to Sakura-san and Sakura-san only. You are welcome to wait outside.” Tetsuya stood there quietly looking at the young man without even blinking. Sakura could feel the tension building up between them; he didn’t look like backing down. Sakura made a pleading face; she couldn’t afford a conflict inside the Uchiha Compound. Tetsuya looked at her as if he was considering the situation and then looked back to Shisui. She thought she could hear his teeth gnashing. “I’ll be here waiting for you to comeback, Sakura-hime”. The girl nodded and gave him a little smile. She was going to have a stroke one of these days.

Shisui walked slowly, knowing she was wearing wooden sandals. The houses were small; their style was traditional but simplified compared to the manor. It was safe to assume that shinobi cherished practicality over other things. Still, their homes were beautiful to her eyes. The place had a comforting air; it was a complete different experience to what she had seen that night. They saw her with smiling faces and some even bowed briefly as she passed.

They stopped. The house in front of them was bigger than the rest but it was still among them. She wasn’t sure what she expected from the leader’s house but the idea of being so close to the rest of the clan mates was surprising. Before they could cross the arch to enter the front garden, the door opened. Mikoto-sama was wearing a simple dress and an apron; she was drying her hands in it, as if she just had finished doing the dishes after lunch. It was hard for Sakura to hide her impression. The woman laughed softly. “Welcome to our home, Sakura-chan”

The girl blushed. She bowed “Mikoto-sama, I’m so grateful for this invitation!” The words came out almost tripping out of her mouth. She thought she could hear Shisui chuckling at her back. “Oka-san, is that onii-san?!” The cheerful voice of Sasuke came right into the entrance; the boy was barefooted, wearing a short and a typical Uchiha shirt. As soon as he saw her he froze, face turning red at the carefree display of affection in his voice. He hid behind his mother skirt. “Sasuke-kun, aren’t you going to say hi to Sakura-chan?” The woman stroked his hair gently. The boy reappeared, still grabbing his mother’s skirt, he did not look happy at all. His face frowned and almost pouting. “Hello, Sakura.”

Shisui laughed hard this time and Mikoto throw him a warning look. “Come in Sakura-chan” The girl turned to bow “Thank you, Shisui-san” His smirk turned into a soft smile, without saying a word he disappeared before her eyes. Sakura blinked a couple of times. “Sakura-chan?” She looked back to the woman and gathering all the courage she could, she entered the house. The situation was turning more and more confusing for Sakura as she was taken to the salon next to their terrace. The house was beautiful in a way Sakura couldn’t really explain, it felt cozy and welcoming, you could easily see that a family lived there. A family. They had no servants.

Sasuke was sitting at the table more composed and serious, he was looking towards the garden. The girl took a sit as well after Mikoto told her; she looked in the same direction as the boy. The garden was rather simple, the grass freshly cut and green, it smelled divine. Mikoto serve the tea and joined the children. “So, Sakura-chan. How are you feeling today?” The girl blinked a couple of times while looking at the woman. How was she feeling today? “I’m feeling ok” her voice came out so soft it was obvious she was still very nervous. Mikoto nodded smiling. “What do you like to do?” Another question, Sakura looked down to her tea, she didn’t understand the interest behind the question, did it matter what she liked? “I like to read.”

“Really? That’s very nice, Sasuke-kun doesn’t like it that much” The boy, who was already making an effort to not look at Sakura, frowned pursing his lips. “Do you like to play games?” the woman continued making conversation. “Oka-san doesn’t let me play any games.” For a brief second the expression Mikoto’s face lost the warmth smile. Sasuke was looking at her now, he looked confused. “What is that?” The girl had asked suddenly, the pressure from having both Uchihas staring at her was unbearable.

“Oh, that’s just the dummy the boys use to train” It was a wooden figure in the garden, it looked sturdy but It had been beaten for sure. The realization made Sakura’s eyes shine with fascination. “Do you train with that?” The question left her lips before she could notice. “Yeah…” It was the first word Sasuke directed to her, he didn’t miss the moment the girl had quirked up in interest for it. “Can you show me?” Those big jade eyes looked at him again, they were practically sparkling. Mikoto watched with a silent smile. “Can we go oka-san?” The woman nodded “just be careful with Sakura-chan, remember she is not like us.” Sakura got up to follow Sasuke, but those last words Mikoto said had stuck in her head.

Sakura hesitated before stepping into the garden, she had no shoes since she left her sandals at the entrance, was it ok to walk barefooted in the garden? Sasuke-kun had no shoes, it seemed ok here. The boy turned to see why she was still at the terrace and then realized she was dressing in a yukata. He sighed and walked back “can you get down on your own?” He asked looking away, “could you help me?” Sakura muttered from embarrassment. It didn’t help the boy was so reluctant to interact openly with her. It wasn’t easy for her either. He took her by the hand suddenly “come on!” his ears were red; she rushed and felt the grass under her feet. What a nice feeling.

As soon as she was down, Sasuke dropped her hand and walked towards the dummy. When they were closer, Sakura could see all the dents in the wood. There was a kunai stuck in the dummy. The boy took it. “Is that live steel?” Sasuke smirked, he displayed more confidence now. “Of course, Onii-san gave me this Kunai and taught me how to use it.” They walked away from the dummy, Sakura stood behind him to watch from a safe distance. “They haven’t taught us this at the academy yet.”

Sasuke assumed his position; it was well ingrained in him, even if most of his body was tense it also looked like muscle memory acting up for him. Sakura wondered how much time took him to learn this. The boy threw. It was such a sharp movement, no hesitation. She couldn’t see exactly what did he do with his hand but the kunai flew and stroke true on the wooden chest. He turned and was taken aback by Sakura’s expression. His smirk wobbled because of her intense awe. “That was amazing” The girl wasn’t looking at him now, she was looking at the kunai. She walked towards the dummy to watch more closely. The boy blinked a couple of times. Sakura returned to him “Can you show me again, Sasuke-kun?”

Her big eyes were looking at him, this time with such clear admiration Sasuke felt something fluttering in his stomach. He wasn’t used such intense attention and praise. Itachi was always the one standing out and gaining his father’s recognition, even now that he was starting the academy his teachers compared him. “Hn.” The boy took the kunai again and returned to his position, this time he threw harder. The kunai buried to the hilt. He looked back and smiled as soon as he saw Sakura’s reaction.

The girl was gapping “No way…” she muttered. She was so impressed it was hard for him to erase his smile. Sakura ran towards the dummy. She looked back and forward between it and Sasuke, her mouth still open. “How..?” He walked to take the kunai, he had to place his foot on the wood to take it out. “I train every day. I practice until I get it perfect every time.” The boy examined his kunai. “Would you let me try?” Sasuke snorted and then realized the girl was actually serious. He frowned and his eyes searched for his mother inside the house, it seemed like she wasn’t around at the moment. “Ok, but just this one time”.

He put the Kunai in her hand. It was much heavier than she expected. Now he was fixing her fingers on the handle. “Grab it like this. No, no. Like this, Sakura.” He was correcting her fingers again. “Ok, now stand like this.” He demonstrated. She tried as best as she could, but the yukata didn’t help. Sasuke sighed. “Always keep an eye in the point you want to hit, you have to move your arm like this, but if you don’t use your wrist, it will lack precision. Get it?” Sakura frowned; it was more complicated than she thought. She gulped, and focused on the dummy, looking at the dent Sasuke just did.

She threw. Sakura blinked a couple of times. The Kunai was on the grass. The girl pursed her lips, then she heard Sasuke laughing. At first he had tried to not laugh so openly at her but her confused face made it much funnier. “Don’t laugh Sasuke-kun!” She shrieked, her firsts closed hard and her face was tinted red from embarrassment.

* * *

He had said that it would be a onetime thing but after her failure at it, she had insisted to give it another try, and another, and another. For Sasuke, watching her make obvious mistakes was frustrating, but then it was the subtle mistakes that made him realize what made a throw… a good throw. Trying to teach the girl was making him think further about his own technique. Sakura’s last throw had finally managed to touch the wood but it hadn’t stuck on it. Her arm will hurt like hell tomorrow.

“… I still don’t get how you do it” The girl was lying on the grass next to him, she was sweating. Her baby hairs were sticking to her neck. “You don’t have any training… It’s not something you should be able to do” He said looking at the sky, his fingers playing with the grass. “But… aren’t there civilian kids at the academy?” Sasuke snorted “Yeah… but you aren’t like them.” Sakura sat up to look at him, she puffed up her cheeks. “That’s mean…” She muttered. Sasuke arched an eyebrow sitting up as well. They looked at each other for a while and he shrugged, dismissing her comment.

“What games do you play?” She asked. His black eyes lay on her and the corners of his lips turned up slightly, it looked like he was remembering something. “Nii-san and I used to play hide and seek and tag”

“Would you like to play?” Sakura offered timidly. “There’s no way you will beat me” he retorted. “That’s not the point, the point is having fun” Sakura blushed trying to not trip through her words. “Are you sure about that?” Sasuke asked his snarky tone made the girl feel even shyer. “Did you ever win against your brother?” The boy’s smirk disappeared, he was frowning now. “Ok, let’s play.”

* * *

As much as Sakura wanted to reach Sasuke she couldn’t. Not even when she loosened her yukata at the bottom so she could run. It didn’t matter much to her thought, running around trying to chase Sasuke was so much fun she couldn’t stop laughing. The boy seemed to be enjoying himself as well. Sakura stopped to kneel on the grass laughing, her cheeks hurt already. “Alright, let’s play hide and seek, maybe you have a chance at it.” Sasuke helped her get up. “You go hide inside the house. I’ll count to thirty”

“Count to fifty.” The boy rolled his eyes and sighed “Fine. You better hide well.”

As the boy turned to start counting, Sakura ran to the house. She almost fell trying to get up the terrace. She reached the salon and remembered she had seen the kitchen when passing through the corridor before. The girl walked carefully trying to be composed as she moved. “Ah, Sakura-chan. Is everything ok?” Mikoto-sama was there, slicing up fruit. “We are playing hide and seek. I don’t know where to hide” The girl played with her fingers, too nervous or excited to stop fidgeting.

“How about here?” The woman opened a door, it was a big pantry. “Perfect!” Sakura ran inside giggling and crawled behind a big basket full of tomatoes. Mikoto closed the door softly. Not long after, she could hear Sasuke’s steps come and go. Sakura could feel her heart pounding with excitement; she tried to cover her mouth to stop giggling and then someone opened the pantry’s door. She held her breath and shrunk as much as she could behind the basket. “Found you!” Sasuke’s laugh rang in her ears and she couldn’t help but laugh along. They ran together back to the garden.

* * *

“Sakura-chan, would you like some cold tea?” Mikoto’s voice called from the house. They were lying on the grass resting from running around the entire afternoon. Sasuke stoop up and walked to the terrace, he stopped then and extended his hand to Sakura, the girl was a bit surprised he would offer without being asked. He helped her.

The kids got to the salon and sat by the table. Mikoto brought the tea and fruits. “Looks like you guys had some fun” Sakura smiled and nodded. The slices of melon were so sweet her mouth watered as soon as she tasted it. She couldn’t help herself but hum at the flavor. “Would you like to come visit us often, Sakura-chan?”

The girl stopped drinking tea and looked at Sasuke. He avoided her eyes, his cheeks blushing. “I would like that” Sakura blurted out without considering it much. The entire afternoon went by so fast her body was aching from all the running. Her arm, especially, felt kind of numb, but she had never felt so good. All the tension had disappeared.

* * *

She said goodbye to Mikoto and Sasuke as she stepped through their front garden. The boy waved at her and she waved back with a big smile crossing her lips. Shisui was waiting for her. He looked tired and a little disarranged.

“Had a good time, huh?” the young man asked. Sakura nodded still smiling. The skies were tinted with orange hues, it was getting late. “Sasuke can be a little difficult, I know, but he is a good boy.” The girl listened quietly. “Don’t worry Sakura-san, I know you two will be good friends.” The girl stared at Shisui now, “ _good friends?”_ She had never considered that before; having a friend, being Sasuke-kun’s friend. Her heart swelled, Sasuke-kun could be her first real friend.

As they reached the gates, she could see Tetsuya standing exactly in the place she had left him as if he hadn’t move an inch from it. His eyes softened as soon as he saw her, the expression in her face must have had something to do with it. Her pace quickened and her arms reached up, Tetsuya picked her up in an embrace and as soon as she locked her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes and yawned.

“Safe and sound” Shisui smirked crossing his arms. Tetsuya didn’t say a word but nodded shortly. He took Sakura into the carriage and gave a sharp whistle to the driver. Shisui stared at the vehicle for a while until it disappeared from his gaze.

* * *

She must have done something right because another invitation arrived, and another, and another. Soon she found herself spending her afternoons at the Uchiha compound. Her mother was beyond pleased; apparently Mikoto enjoyed having her at their home.

Sakura had to stop reading; she had a big smile on her face. The girl dropped the scroll and stretched. She had spent the entire afternoon playing ninja with Sasuke. He had shurikens made of wood and other toys he shared with her. He would be the one deciding what games to play and taught her how to play them, it didn’t take her much to comprehend Sasuke liked to be in charge, and that was fine. She didn’t know any games so she would follow him around all the time until they got tired of playing. Then he would start training. He agreed very reluctantly to explain things if she asked. So Sakura sat and watched. It was absolutely mesmerizing to watch Sasuke train; he made everything look so easy and beautiful. The boy was very talented, he had to be. There was no other explanation for it. She couldn’t help herself but admire him. If he was in a really good mood, he would even teach her a couple of things.

Now she could decently throw a Kunai. Although, Sasuke didn’t let her touch live steel anymore after the small cut she had done to herself. She could still remember Sasuke’s face when he saw blood running down her finger. The boy had jumped to her aid, she was in the verge of tears, it was the first time she saw her own blood and her opened flesh. Sasuke covered her mouth to stop any sob from coming out of her lips and once he was sure she wouldn’t burst into tears he took her arm and ran into the house. They avoided Mikoto-sama in their way to Sasuke’s room; he said Itachi-nii had given him a special ointment for small cuts when he started training with live steel. In less than five minutes he took care of the small cut, she wasn’t bleeding anymore. Turns out the cut was quite superficial, it was the blood that had made it look like a tragedy. After that small incident Sasuke did not let her touch any weapon, it didn’t matter how much she pouted, he would look the other way and ignore her pleading looks.

Sakura looked at her finger. She could see a faded line. It was so small nobody noticed and she thanked Kami for it. Somehow she knew Mikoto-sama wasn’t telling her mother about their afternoons. To be fair, Mikoto-sama didn’t know the extent of Sasuke’s teachings either. But it was obvious her mother didn’t know she was spending her time with Sasuke running around, rolling on the grass and looking for frogs on the lake of the Uchiha compound. Mikoto-sama had to lend her a cotton yukata for that one.

Tetsuya, on the other hand, was another story. He knew she wasn’t sitting around, drinking tea and playing the Shamisen. But, of course, he wouldn’t comment on it. He seemed happy for her. After the first couple of visits, he had come to terms with the security measures of the Compound; Shisui no longer came to escort her thought. He had been too busy for that. Izumi Uchiha was in charge of that now.

Izumi was a friend of Itachi-nii, or so everyone said. Sakura suspected maybe they were more of an item. She didn’t know for sure, she hadn’t met Sasuke’s brother yet and she was starting to understand why the boy was so upset about it, he was never around. Sasuke said he went out very early and got back very late, so all she knew about him was through the stories the boy told her.

Sasuke loved his brother very much. It was complete adoration, his eyes shined like shooting stars whenever Itachi was the subject of their conversations. Sakura wondered how it felt to be so loved. She would often find herself listening intently to Sasuke’s stories, and her heart ached with the sound of the profound affection in his voice. It was a beautiful thing to see, to hear.

Sakura moved her table and carpet carefully. Every time she uncovered her chakra circle she would have to go over it with chalk again. She didn’t care; it helped her reflect on her own growth. That autumn night she drew the first layer of the circle felt so far away now. The second layer was done near the end of winter and now, by the end of spring she would make another layer. The pool was growing, sometimes it scared her people would notice, but she couldn’t stop, not now.

Sasuke’s explanations were helping her. Somehow the scroll was starting to become more comprehensible, well, sort of. He had said that the Uchiha were a clan blessed by fire. Fire blossomed in them and so they were prone to fire techniques. Sakura had asked him if everyone had an elemental affinity, Sasuke said most did. He drew a scheme; apparently they had learned theory recently on class. Fire, water, earth, lightning and wind where the five primary. Other natures existed as a result of combining two of the primary, but it was a far too complicated matter. Most of the time, people that were able to successfully merge two natures into a new one were genetically supported for it, or even rarer, they were a singularity within the sea of shinobi, like the Shodaime.

It made sense. Going back to her notes about the scroll, it had repeatedly said that merging earth and water could potentially create something greater. But wouldn’t earth and water create something like mud? How could someone manifest wood from that alone?

Sakura scratched her head and sighed, she saw her notes on the table. Maybe it was a waste of time, there was so much she didn’t know it was silly. Sakura started to cover the chakra circle again, once everything was back in place she saw her quill lying on the table. It had a steel point.

Sakura took it and walked to the center of her room. It was late, she should go to sleep but her mind couldn’t stay quiet. She tried to grab the quill as if it was a Kunai. It was too light and it had a feather, the proportions were all off. Kunai were made to be perfectly balanced, all of the same size and edge. It ended up being muscle memory really. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend it was a proper weapon.

She could feel her fingers tingling. Her breathing slowed down; suddenly she was too aware of how her feet were positioned, how her chakra ran towards her arm. Sakura made a movement, sharp and clear. She felt the chakra infusing into her muscles. The trajectory cut the air and when she opened her eyes the quill was embedded into the wooden arch of her door.

Sakura looked at her hand, then looked at the quill.

* * *

Senbonzakura

I N T E R M I S S I O N

Senbonzakura

* * *

“There are more around here, but we have to be quiet, ok?” Sasuke gave her a warning look. The girl nodded and took a better hold to the basket. The wooden foundation of the temple was well preserved, they crawled towards the back. Grasshoppers jumped around them, a green one in particular was huge. She would suggest a grasshopper hunt for tomorrow. “Sakura” She took his hand to help herself up, Sasuke held her as they walked towards the hydrangeas in front of them. An explosion of pastel colors, lilac and pink all over. “They are so pretty, Sasuke-kun!” The boy put a finger on his lips; they could hear voices in the temple.

Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other; there were a couple of adults in the temple. Slowly they started to collect flowers. They had been going around the compound taking flowers from here and there. With these last ones Sakura could fill the basket. She had told him she wanted to make flower crowns; it was peak spring, the perfect time for it. And since he was in a good mood today, he agreed.

“Tonight we have a meeting, Fugaku-sama called the head of each family in the clan.” One of the men on the temple was talking loud enough for them to hear. Sasuke stopped gathering flowers. Sakura looked at him, his face frowned, concerned. The girl took a couple more flowers and stood up. “Sasuke-kun” she whispered. The boy looked at her; she was offering her hand to him. “Let’s go” He nodded and grabbed it.

* * *

Mikoto received them with tea, she was very impressed with the collection of flowers they had. She served sliced tomatoes with oil and salt, Sasuke really liked to eat tomatoes this way. “I have to practice my katas today” He commented picking the last sliced piece of tomato. Sakura finished her tea. “When are the duels?”

“In a couple of weeks. We are finally going to have a real combat practice” Sasuke smirked; she could tell he was really excited. Sasuke didn’t have trouble with the theory side of things. She came to realize the boy had a reading comprehension and calculus level almost as high as her. Almost. But he was much more talented for the practical side, no doubt. It was a pleasure to watch him go.

Sakura sat on the terrace and started to knit flowers together, she could see Sasuke in the garden going through katas. He was in his zone now. His face so focused yet relaxed. The wind blew and brought sakura petals with it. The girl took a deep breath; the smell of flowers was all over her. She never felt so happy before.

It took a while to make two full crowns. White carnations, lilac and pink hydrangeas, daisies and periwinkles. She put on one; her eyes looked for the boy. Sasuke was meditating on the grass. She stared. How big was his chakra pool?

She got off the terrace and walked towards him. The boy opened his eyes. Sakura smiled and held the second crown in front of him. “Pleaaaase” She pouted. He rolled his eyes. “No, it’s dumb” The girl’s lips wobbled, she had spent quite some time making it. Little tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

“Fine.”

He took it from her hands and put it on with little care. Sakura sniffed and rubbed her eyes to look at him. A giggle escaped her lips. His cheek blushed softly, Sasuke felt a drop of sweat running down his cheek. “It suits you” Both kids turned and look to the terrace. A boy much older than them stood on it. His hair was long and lustrous on a low ponytail. He was rather gorgeous.

Sakura felt very shy suddenly, she wanted to hide behind Sasuke who was standing now. His face colored red. “Itachi-nii!” he ran to him.

* * *

She remembered his gestures and words and how they held such warmth and serenity. His eyes, it was the first time she had seen such eyes in a shinobi. The men she had met the ceremony night, they all had dark and shallow eyes, but Itachi-san had managed to keep his tenderness. She could now see so very clearly why he was the center of Sasuke-kun's life. He was the most captivating person she had met, the moment he had stepped in that afternoon she had lost her words, only able to listen enraptured by every sound that came out of his mouth.

She vaguely remembered Sasuke-kun mentioning the duels to him and Itachi-san proceed to explain in a very gentle and calm manner how one should prepare for an encounter. He made it look so simple; every consideration he made, how he came to these realizations.

Sakura came to the conclusion that a shinobi was more, so much more that she could had ever imagined. It was as if Shinobi were meant to be highly articulated beings and not just specialized warriors; from within a complex system of coils and pathways of pure energy wielded by a skilled and sharp mind, manifested through a well trained and curated body. It was a synchronized dance between mind, body and soul.

She imagined a stage, it would be like singing, dancing and playing the music simultaneously. A beautiful performance. Sakura closed her eyes; she could almost see the energy running through her pathways. She continued to move, kata after kata, silent in the darkness of her room. She had seen Sasuke do this for weeks. She was trained to memorize choreographies; it wasn't so far from a dance.

Her eyes snapped open; Tetsuya was standing by the frame of her door, his arms crossed. She stopped. "Sakura-hime…" his voice almost a reproach. Anatomy texts laid on the table, packs of notebooks gathered around. She was supposed to be sleeping but her night time sessions had started to extend more and more to the point where dawn would be the one sending her to bed just to catch a few minutes of sleep. It was a wonder, really, how she had managed to keep up with everything.

He had noticed how she slept in the carriage every time they went to the compound. By the time she came back from her playdates she was so drained she would drool all over the seat. She was taking naps during the trips. He would wake her up once they arrived. At first he thought that the games she played were the reason for her tiredness, until he saw her one night going through a sequence of katas. Her form was too soft and docile. She was approaching this with a dancing posture and so while it looked graceful… It lacked strength and much more tenacity.

Tetsuya saw the look on her eyes once she stopped, there was a spark in them that wasn’t there before. Determination, passion, _hope_ ; strong emotions dancing in her young eyes.

This would destroy her.

Her boy-husband might find it charming now, maybe even for a couple of years more but then… Then, what? He would crush that light in her eyes. That is, of course, if Hanae-sama didn’t get her first. It had been such a fortunate thing for her to be too busy to not even bother looking into the things Sakura was doing in the Uchiha Compound.

Most of it was perfectly harmless, he knew. But the exposition Sakura was having to the shinobi world was escalating things in a way he could no longer control. One thing was letting her stumble around and play with a couple of scrolls, and another entirely was practicing katas, studying anatomy and using quills as kunai.

It was a matter of time until the Uchiha noticed her increasing chakra pool. That was another ticking bomb that was fucking with his sleep and kept him awake at night.

“Anatomy?” He almost didn’t think about it. “Itachi-san said it was crucial to understand human anatomy if one aspired to face an enemy successfully.” Uchiha Itachi, Tetsuya ran a hand through his face, the weight of the situation seemed to collapse on his shoulders. He had aspired to be able to handle this better.

He knelt before her, his hands grabbing her shoulders. “What are you doing?” The question left his lips and he couldn’t quite control the tone. It reflected on her face, her eyebrows frowned in a worried expression.

“I…” Her lips trembled.

“I can’t protect you from them.” He no longer looked at her, his eyes on the floor. “You need to stop, it’s only a matter of time they notice if they haven’t already.” His hands held hers now. But she stepped away.

“No.”

Tetsuya looked at her surprised, he hesitated. “Master…”

“I’m not going to stop.”

The girl's eyes shined truth. Her firsts closed tightly, Tetsuya felt his heart clench.

* * *

The news had left her feeling cold and empty. She still couldn’t understand. They didn’t find his body, only a suicide note. Her hands trembled still from time to time. Only a few days had passed; they had sent a big arrangement of white chrysanthemums to the compound and they received a letter shortly after thanking for the flowers. She wanted to see Sasuke-kun, but no invitation from the compound had arrived yet. It was their time of grief, Haruka had said.

The abrupt loss of Shisui had raised some preoccupations in the manor. The young man had been such a promise of prosperity for the clan, losing him under these circumstances particularly, was extremely worrying to say the least. Her mother was already on her way back to Konoha from another business trip and her grandmother had been so quiet it was unnerving.

“Sakura-hime, a letter from the Compound just came in; you have been invited as per usual.” Haruka was staring at her with a piece of paper in her hands. It had been days since the last visit, she missed greatly her afternoons at the compound. Her hands trembled again, she nodded.

It was already summer, it had started briefly after Shisui’s death. She was dressed quickly. Today’s Yukata was the prettiest shade of lilac, wisterias were the floral theme on it. Her hair was carefully tied and braided, red ribbons holding the arrangement. It wasn’t long before she was on her way to the compound. She felt uneasy and unsure about what was waiting for her. Only a few days ago she had been on the Compound. It had been the most natural thing then. Another day of games with Sasuke, he took her to the forest near the lake. Itachi had prepared a treasure hunt for them.

The riddles were fairly complicated but she was so used to reading obsolete literature that it took them more time moving from one point to the other than solving the mysteries. Sasuke was visibly impressed by her interpretation skills. They discovered the treasure right in time for tea; it had been a couple of paper windmills. She adored hers. It made such a lovely sound whenever the wind blew. The paper was thick but flexible, she wondered if Itachi-san had made them himself. 

Those last three months had passed fast, too fast. The ceremony felt so far from her now, though, like a vague dream she wasn’t sure about. Sakura stepped out of the carriage, Tetsuya gave her a hand and as soon as she steeped on the floor he bowed. She nodded shortly and walked towards the gates.

Izumi welcomed her as always. Her pretty face looked tired, bags under her eyes. Sakura felt a dull pain in her chest; she needed to be mindful, the Uchihas were still mourning. As they stopped in front of the leader’s house, Sakura turned to bow respectfully towards Izumi, no words were necessary, a bitter smile crossed the girl’s face as she understood her gesture. Izumi nodded and left.

Tears ran fast through her cheeks as Sakura stared at Izumi’s back. A hand rested on her shoulder, she hadn’t noticed the moment Mikoto-sama approached her. The woman noticing her tears crouched down softly, her hand now rubbing her back. Sakura tried to suppress it. “It’s ok…” Only a gentle whisper. The girl felt her throat contract painfully, her lips trembled and fat tears dropped from her eyes. “Oh… Sweetie.” She felt the caring embrace of the woman and she could only sob on her shoulder. Mikoto-sama stroked her hair as reassuring words left her mouth.

Soon after she was cleaning her face of tears with a cotton tissue. She wiped her nose and fixed the fringes of hair away from her eyes. “Come on inside, Sasuke has missed you.” Sakura nodded incapable of answering, she started to regulate her breathing. She didn’t want Sasuke to see her upset. They went inside. Mikoto-sama offered her a glass of water that helped her to gather herself better. She felt calm now.

Sakura walked towards the garden and before she could reach the terrace she ran into Sasuke. The boy stopped just in time before clashing with her. He had bandages going from down his knees to his feet and he was wearing his training clothes. They stared at each other in silence. He noticed her eyes and red nose, whenever she cried it was far too obvious. “What happened to your mouth?” She whispered, her eyes fixated on his lips. Sasuke’s hand jerked up to cover it. “He’s been training too hard.” Mikoto walked towards them, Sakura stepped away and saw the mother apply an ointment to her child’s face. Small Band-Aids followed after

“Go on now and be careful with Sakura-chan” The woman gave them a sweet smile before disappearing into the hallway. “Where are we going?”

“To the lake.”

* * *

He told her to stay back no matter what. He was standing at the end of the peer. She saw his arms move and then…

_katon: goukakyuu no jutsu!_

Sakura’s heart stuttered. Fire came out from Sasuke’s lips into the lake, a rounded blaze forming just ahead from him. Soft waves move through the water and the leaves danced aggravated from its force. Her skin bristled so hard she felt chills down her back. It was incredible, beyond her wildest dreams.

Sakura walked towards the shore of the lake her mouth opened in shock. Sasuke was panting, bending forward to rest his hands on his knees. For how long has he practiced? She remembered the skin around his mouth; it was the heat of the fire that had left it tender. Sakura swallowed hard and felt her heart settle on her chest as the boy went through the signs again, from where she was standing now, she could feel the warmth of it; her face illuminated each time. She didn’t blink, staring at the fire manifesting. It left her breathless every time.

Sasuke dropped on his knees. His arms were shaking as he tried to keep himself from falling. Sakura ran and crouched next to him. “It’s not good enough” she heard him whisper between breaths. She held him. He tried to regulate his breathing still unable to stand. “Sasuke-kun… It’s perfect.” She muttered feeling her heart pound. He remained silent, his arms stopped shaking. “Sasuk-“ He moved abruptly and pushed her away.

Sakura reached with her hand to touch his shoulder. “You will never understand!” He turned, his angry eyes now looking at her, she stepped back. “But…” her lips trembled.

“All you have to do is sit there looking pretty! You have no idea what is like to work this hard, you don’t have to –” He stopped mid sentence to swallow. Sakura was running away. Sasuke’s jaw clenched, his fists closed tightly. “Tsk...”

…

_Katon: goukakyuu no jutsu!_

* * *

She ran long enough to stop hearing the echoes of his voice. She was crying again. What could possibly make him think he wasn’t good enough? Sakura grabbed her chest, trying to calm her heart. He didn’t think much of her and it hurt. She felt so ashamed. The girl continued to walk towards the house, Uchihas stared at her with worried looks. She was never without Sasuke and looked clearly upset. It was strange how attached she had become to the Compound, she could recognize everyone and knew most of them by name now.

She left her sandals at the entrance as she stepped into the house. She should go back to the manor. “Sakura-chan?” Mikoto’s voice stopped her midway to the salon. She straighten up and tried to look as composed as possible, she had already cried on her shoulder today. She was supposed to be a pleasant visitor. “I should go.” She muttered looking down. “Honey, what happened? Where’s Sasuke?” Mikoto approached her. Sakura stayed silent not looking up once. The woman sighed. “Come, why don’t you help me with the tea?” the girl only moved after Mikoto took her gently by the hand, guiding her to the kitchen.

For a while they didn’t say a word, Mikoto hummed prettily as she crushed leaves with a mortar. Sakura on the other hand, selected the leaves for her. The smell was starting to sooth her and the sweet voice of the woman gave her a feel of steadiness. “Sasuke really cares for you…” Sakura stopped to look at Mikoto. “He’s been under a lot of pressure lately, that’s all.” A smiled followed. The girl looked down to the leaves. “Why…?”

“He wants to impress his father just as much as Itachi did when he was his age.” Sakura frowned, she felt the reminiscence of heat on her face. The boy had look so little before that inferno. She could remember so clearly the crisp of the flames. It had been so captivating. “Sasuke-kun is… He’s brilliant.” Her cheeks blushed slightly.

Mikoto nodded. “He wants to live up to his father’s expectations, as tough as that could sometimes be, people only want to be recognized by their loved ones.” Mikoto placed a kettle on the fire. “For us Uchiha, there’s nothing more important than family.”

* * *

The subtle sound of the windmills purred to her in her sleep. The wind felt so nice, it moved the loose fringes of her hair around tickling her face. The wooden floor was cold enough to keep her cool at the terrace; the shadow of the roof protected her from the sun. After drinking tea she had laid down on the terrace.

The sweet smell of flowers floated through the air suddenly. Her eyes opened, she saw the windmills spiraling near the grass. She sat up from the floor and saw a couple of gardenias on her lap. Sakura touched the velvet petals. She had seen them before on a big bush in the backyard of one of the old Uchiha women. Sasuke had told her they couldn’t take those for the flower crowns because the elderly woman was, in his words, scary.

She looked up, the boy was on the garden going though his katas giving his back to her. Had he really took the flowers for her? She grabbed the gardenias and smelled them, her chest swell. She walked silently towards him, he looked so tired.

Sasuke stopped after sensing her come near. “…To me, You will always be the greatest Shinobi.” Her voice came out soft, barely a whisper. He turned slightly, just enough to see his profile. “Hn.” She knew it was time to go then, not much more could be done today. She knew Sasuke enough to understand when he wanted to be left alone. She walked away holding the gardenias to her chest.

The boy heard her leave, he looked back. Sakura was almost gone from his view. His eyes softened, the corners of his lips turned up briefly.

* * *

For once, she had decided to sleep early today. She couldn’t afford to feel fatigued so often, Sasuke-kun had said on an occasion that part of training was resting. It allowed the body to breath and assimilate. She covered herself only to kick the sheets away from her seconds after, the heat was unbearable. She reached for the paper fan near her futon and started to cool herself.

She remembered the tone in his voice just the day before. He had finally demonstrated again the Katon technique to his father. Fugaku-sama had praised him. He was so happy; his eyes sparkled and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling the whole time. It only took him a couple of days to master it.

She asked him how it felt to do something like that, and he explain in such way that made her think over her notes all over again. He said he felt as if all his energy drew away from his extremities into his chest. “ _It’s probably what happens since my chest swells a lot when I do it…And then, I can feel the fire, Sakura. But it doesn’t burn me, it feels powerful… like a beast living inside me”_ He explained.

He described how careful he had to be expelling that chakra from his body. It had to go through his fingers thin and soft to then release it wild into the field, someday soon he wouldn’t even need to shape it with his hand. She listened to everything with big curious eyes, and so he showed her the hand seals. _Snake, ram, monkey, boar, horse, tiger_. They went over them one by one; he had to correct her fingers several times. How could he go over them so fast? He chuckled often at her attempts.

“ _There!”_ He had pointed suddenly. A firefly shined no far from them, he took her hand to ran towards it.

Sakura smiled, he had promise to make her a lamp with fireflies. She continued to move the fan as she remembered him explain how he’d make it.

Suddenly, she heard someone running, their footsteps resonating strong on the wooden floors. Sakura sat up frowning. The lights were out, who was up? Suddenly several footsteps could be heard. A scream broke the night. The girl got up, her heart pounding. What was happening?

She ran to the _tsubo-niwa_ , she could hear the voice still. It was her mother’s. It sounded near her grandmother’s office. Sakura rushed, she wasn’t even breathing. She saw Tetsuya at the door of the office, his face was pale. He wasn’t even blinking.

As soon as he saw her, he approached her. “A-all of them?! Who did it?!” Her mother was screaming, her voice broken. Sakura felt tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. What had happened…?

“They are counting the bodies. They agreed to call me if they had news but… It was a massacre at the compound.” Satsuki’s voice trembled. Sakura’s body shook so violently she could barely walk towards the office, she had signal Tetsuya to back away. She dug her fingers in the door’s frame. Her mother hair was loose and fell wildly on her back; her face was red and wet from the tears. Her hands trembled terribly, she held a cigarette between her lips but she couldn’t light up the match. She smashed the little box to the ground. “Fuck!” Her voice was almost gone now.

Sakura couldn’t hold herself anymore. She bent and threw up on the floor, her body contracted harshly. She couldn’t stop retching even though nothing more came out of her stomach. Tetsuya held her, he rubbed her back gently trying to stop her trembles but the girl couldn’t stop. He carried her in an embrace, she felt like a fragile doll made of paper.

The phone rang. “T-the boy? The boy survived?” Sakura’s breathing stop. “Alright, thank you. Goodnight to you, sir” The phone was dropped. “Sasuke is alive, he’s in the hospital.” Her grandmother continued speaking but she could no longer hear what she was saying, they were screaming at each other.

* * *

She barely recalled what happened next. Naoko and Umeko had jumped to her aid and managed to clean her up as fast as humanly possible. They tried to explain over and over what had happened. Uchiha Itachi had killed his entire clan. _"Itachi-nii..._ "

She couldn’t stop saying she needed to go now to see Sasuke-kun and the girls didn’t say otherwise as they dressed her in a fresh yukata but they didn't let her go. Sakura pushed them away screaming. Tetsuya had to grab her by the wrists. "I'm going to go!" Her voice was broken, but her eyes were determined. The man nodded trying to catch his breath, he had never seen Sakura like this. The child wouldn't stop screaming and crying. Maybe if she could see him for a moment...

Tetsuya managed to call the carriage, Hanae-sama and Satsuki-sama were too upset and busy now to notice Sakura's absence. Naoko and Umeko helped her walk to the vehicle. She sat at the carriage and looked towards the window. The night had barely started. She didn’t blink once, tears fell countless on her cheek and into her lap, her right hand held the base of her neck, as if she was trying to contain any sounds coming out of her chest. The gentle smile of Mikoto crossed her mind and she gritted her teeth as hard as she could but the pain in her chest was so raw she couldn’t drown the sobs. She cried uncontrollably as she held herself. Tetsuya’s lips trembled at the image, his eyes burned.

* * *

As they walk towards the reception of the hospital two masked ninjas stopped them. "You cannot enter." Tetsuya took a breath in as he considered alternatives but before he could even say a word, an old man appeared from the hallway. He wore a white robe, an escort of anbu surrounding him. It was unmistakable. "That's ok, let the child pass" Tetsuya kneeled, holding his head down. Sakura stared at the old man as he removed his hat. Sarutobi Hiruzen. The girl bowed deep.

"Hokage-sama, only family members." A nurse spoke, she looked like she lamented to be the one to point that out. "Then it shouldn't be a problem, She is his wife." Hiruzen watched as Sakura stood up, everyone was silent now. He moved, and so his entire escort opened the guard to let her pass.

The Hokage mumbled the room's number to Tetsuya as they walked by.

* * *

She stared at the door, trying to gather herself. It hadn’t been easy to get here, and now that she was one door away from him she couldn’t open it. Tetsuya reached the handle, and after a click he opened it for her. Her feet moved without thinking, her face contorted in pain as she saw him on the bed unconscious.

Sakura sat at the edge and watched him silently. Her hand reached his, she grabbed it as gently as she could. The touch was warm and as she saw his chest go up and down she realized she couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t. She had to protect him.

For a while she sat there watching him. They were alone now, Tetsuya remained in the hallway. Sakura looked through the window, darkness swallowed the village, clouds covered the moon. She felt his hand grab hers. Sakura looked at him, the boy was watching her in silence, his breathing started to become irregular, she could see in his eyes how he had just remember what happened. He was grabbing her hard now, he sat up panting. Tears ran down his cheeks copiously. Sakura swallowed hard as she tried to control her own emotions.

She hugged him with one arm while holding his hand. For a moment she thought he would push her, but the boy hugged her back and started to sob on her shoulder trembling. Sakura pushed down her own sobs as the tears wetted her face once more.

They cried together. His fists were clenched on the fabric of her yukata. The boy held her almost too roughly; the pain too great to bear alone.

* * *

Tetsuya opened the door of the room, dawn was about to break. A soft light entered through the window. He needed to take Sakura back to the manor. The man stepped in quietly and walked towards the bed. The kids were asleep; they had been asleep for a while now. Sakura held Sasuke in her arms, the boy was still grabbing the back of her yukata while he hid his face on her chest. Tetsuya felt his body go heavy. He didn’t want to break them off, but he had to.

Carefully he approached Sakura grabbing her by the waist. He started to pull her off the bed softly. Her arms left Sasuke; she was deep in her sleep. It was easier than he thought it would be, the kids were probably too exhausted to notice.

As he accommodated Sakura in his arms he turned but he couldn’t move further. He looked back. Sasuke had grabbed Sakura by the arm, his eyes shining red in the dark. Tetsuya went cold, his body paralyzed by the image.

The boy’s sharingan spun furiously. They stared at each other for a while.

...

Sasuke let go of her arm, his scarlet eyes watching as he carried her away.

* * *

She woke up as they crossed the gates of the manor. “Take me to Grandmother’s office” she muttered. He let her stand a few steps before the door. The girl’s emotions were numb, her eyes dark despite the rising sun in the horizon. She stepped into the office. They were still there, her mother and grandmother.

Sakura walked inside the room stopping only to look at them.

“I’m going to be a Shinobi.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have reached the end of the prologue! 
> 
> Next chapter we will see the Academy as Sakura gives her first steps towards her Shinobi life!
> 
> I hope you liked it, leave a comment if you did!


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